Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint. ~ Isaiah 40:31-31
Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can experience the light. ~ Madeleine L'Engle
I really hate it when someone tells me to be patient.
Really.
Waiting is a test of my entire will. I'd like to say I've become enlightened enough to have figured out how to do it well, but I'm just not there yet.
And when the waiting is for something I earnestly hope for, then the waiting seems endless.
So waiting as a gift? Well, I guess yeah.
If you have been through dark times and have been forced to be patient, you know how sweet it is when hope has not let you down.
When waiting comes during a time of stress or trial and hopes are for relief...how much more wonderful when that relief comes.
Waiting can feel like darkness. It can make you feel anxious. And if you are like me, it's possible that's not going to change.
But through it, keep your eyes and heart open so that when your waiting comes to an end, you are able to grasp on gratefully to where hope has led you.
Grant me serenity and patience to accept that my hopes may not come today. Or tomorrow, and yet know that you are there always. Amen.