There is a line from a song – long forgotten now who sang it or even the name of the song – that keeps floating through my head these days.  The line says “I’ve waited longer for lesser things.”  Why does this keep coming back to me now?  Because I’m waiting.

Much of our days seem to be taken up with waiting as there are few things in this life that are instant.  The challenge for us is to use this time of waiting to our advantage.  That sounds much easier than it actually is.  But we are encouraged to make the most of each moment and to find the grace that is disguised in the waiting.

This interminable waiting could be a call for us to be ever more attentive to the environment around us and to deepen our appreciation for what is.   It could be an invitation for us to simply “be” and not to worry about the past or the future, but simply “be” in the present moment without trying to design tomorrow.  It could be an exercise in sharpening our desire by asking ourselves:  do we really desire what we are waiting for?  Or, it could be an opportunity to divert our attentions to other things and not be so consumed with the waiting.  Yes, it does sound so much easier than it actually is!

And yet, there is grace in this moment also.  Wait with grace.  Perhaps this time is an invitation to make the very time of waiting itself a prayer.