March 31 -Waiting’s Beauty

(submitted by Lisa Heckaman)

“Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord......Blessed are all who wait for Him.” (Psalm 27:14, Isaiah 30:18)



As we are quickly approaching Holy Week it is quite natural for us to set our sights, our focus, on the celebration of Easter Sunday...Jesus overcoming death and rising to new life. With Easter though, still a week away, I ponder what lessons God has for us in this ‘waiting’ time. As Jesus approached His first Easter each moment was significant, every movement and event adding to the fulfillment of His final and ultimate calling. What moments this week....pauses in my day....conversations.....glimpses of creation....does God want me to take notice of? What preparation does He want to do in me this week as I wait?

Last year around this time I had the opportunity to be in the Holy Land. So many blessings were showered upon me, yet nothing was as profound as what God taught me about waiting through the simplicity of two Galilean sunrises. The first morning a small group of us decided we would get up early and walk down to the Sea of Galilee to watch the sun come up. It didn't take long as I sat in the coolness to recognize my impatient heart. I was fidgety, distracted, and always thought I was ready to receive the gift before it was officially time for the dawn to give it. Rain was in the forecast. The storm clouds seemed powerful and heavy, wishing to unload the bounty of water which they carried. Faint colors appeared and hinted at the coming of day. After what seemed like such a very long time, God allowed a small opening in the sky to break for just a moment in order for us to finally see what we thought we had come for - the emergence of the sun. And then within seconds it was gone, shadowed by the clouds and rain winning out for the day. The gift was mine, but it seemed so fleeting.

The next morning the sky was clear. Again I was ready, or at least I thought. I tried so hard to stay in the moment and not become anxious in my anticipation.....to just 'be' with my God. It was easy to again recognize my struggle while sitting there waiting. I was distracted; looking so intently for the finale which I knew would still really only last for a short time. I prayed and I tried to stay, embracing the beauty which I found most brilliant in the 'waiting time'. I was embarrassed that it took so much effort on my part to keep my focus, to take in the beauty around me in the very moment I was living in.

I became amazed at what I could see. The greatest gifts for me came in the waiting time as I saw new colors develop and blend, casting their brilliance before me. The colors on that second morning were vivid and far more reaching. Geese flew across the beautiful backdrop of the Galilean morning. As light dawned the surrounding hills cast their first reflections upon the water below. And the fishermen sang. I smiled because although I knew not what they sang, the smile on their faces told me it was a song of Joy. The sun finally broke forth and I was completely captured with this truth...that ALL light......ALL OF IT, and the beauty therein, comes but from one source, the Sun. The whole of the morning pointed to the coming of the sun and its entrance upon the stage of this new day.

I left the shoreline knowing that God was teaching me a lesson about 'waiting' and how in the waiting there is such beauty to behold. I tend to look so for the results, the finale, the answers to my questions, the ending.......but when I finally get there, the satisfaction is so fleeting and then I'm on to the next thing. The most beautiful of lessons and the nourishment that refreshes my spirit comes in the moment to moment gifts that God brings to light within me as I wait, and stay, and look towards the 'Son'.....from whom ALL light emerges.

Dear Lord Help me to stay in the moment through this day. Help me to recognize all that You have to show me in the ‘now’ instead of focusing on the answers of the future. You, oh Lord, hold the light.....You ARE the light.....and I trust that You will break forth in me in due time. I praise You for the beauty which You unfold around me. Teach me to rest in the stillness of Your Presence. Amen