Opportunities to Wait

From the pickup line at our school to waiting for much anticipated events and activities, everyday life brings plenty of opportunities to wait. Understanding that waiting is also a spiritual practice that trains us to hope in Christ’s return helps us stand firm in our faith when it seems like his coming is still a million years away. “Waiting is an invitation to wait with God for the God who comes ‘to us like the spring rain’ when it is time” (Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, rev. ed. [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005], 140). The spiritual practice of waiting includes prayer, attention to the present moment with God, letting go of control, and surrendering our timetable.