A Time of Waiting

Posted December 10, 2024

“One of the things I’ve been taught by Native American elders is the importance of patience, of waiting to do things when the time is right.” —Joseph Bruchac

Patiently waiting for the right time to do something, for an illness to pass, or the arrival of something or someone is not one of my inherent strengths.

However, I’ve found that the more time I sit in silence, even for a few minutes at a time, I strengthen my ‘waiting muscle.’

Where or how do you strengthen your patience or ability to wait with grace? When I sit quietly in nature, waiting for the sun to rise or set, watching the squirrels gather nuts, or observing the way the branches of a tree dance in the wind, I can be patient. And, in turn, be rewarded by the scene in front of me and the more elusive sense of peace or clarity about a challenge that comes to me.

I don’t know that I’ll ever get to the point where the waiting room of an office or my blank phone screen seeking a text on the health of a loved one are ever times where I’m at peace, but I do know that the stress of those difficult waiting moments is lessened by the quiet pauses I experience elsewhere.

“Waiting is a period of learning. The longer we wait,
the more we hear about him for whom we are waiting.”
—Henri Nouwen

Whether your faith aligns with Christians honoring this time of Advent and waiting or follows a different path, how might strengthening your waiting muscle in times of silence open you to learning more about whatever you’re wrestling with or whomever you’re waiting for?

May you be blessed with the patience to wait and the willingness to receive the gifts that waiting may bring.

Adult Woman In Winter Coat Walking At The Rugged De Horst Nature

Waiting for a Gift

“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach – waiting for a gift from the sea.”
—Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Longing and Waiting

“Every year we celebrate the holy season of Advent, O God. Every year we pray those beautiful prayers of longing and waiting and sing those lovely songs of hope and promise.”
—Karl Rahner

the voyage

at the deepest end
of the endless moon
sunk in the river
of the endless night

where restless quivering rests
& the mind is afloat

without thought
without thought

there comes a rest
so pure and complete

molasses sleep
without desire

through the seams of ether slipped
no longer flesh but light
—a ship i voyage

beyond what’s understood
beyond the body life itself
becomes the journey undertook

and all that’s happened
and all that will
circles round becoming still

not the mind and not the flesh
but endless formless infinite mesh

and there is pulse
and there is light
and there is sound

—d. ellis phelps

One of top ten finalist poems of the Thriving Today Poetry Contest. After sharing with you the five winning poems, we’re thrilled to close out our year of focus on Thriving Together with the remaining top ten finalists of our poetry contest. Enjoy!