Monday, October 20, 2008

Dynamic Waiting

We recently received this quote about waiting from a friend:

Waiting is not inactivity; it is not resignation; it is a dynamic process….Sometimes I think that patience is one of the great characteristics that distinguishes God from man. God knows how to wait, dynamically; everybody else is in a hurry. Some things cannot be forced but they must unfold, sending their tendrils deep into the heart of life, gathering strength and power with the unfolding days. --Howard Thurman

One friend likened waiting to seeing a pond that from a distance looks completely still. But upon closer examination you can see that it's full of activity--tiny swirls and movements glaze the entire surface, yet as a whole it looks calm. God is active in the stillness arranging and re-arranging our lives.

We are helping out with a class at church called Alpha. During the opening night of the class a video was shown that we call the "Happy Yet?" video. It's about striving for life's milestones (graduation, new job, marriage, family, new marriage, retirement, etc.) thinking they will make us happy. They do for a little bit, but it never lasts. Then we're onto the next thing that will make us happy and on and on we go.

At the end of the day, completely spent, we realize that the kind of fulfillment we're looking for comes only from God. When we're in that place, the waiting feels more like growing.