Today is Wednesday, but I’m writing this on Monday morning. As I drink my tea and read the paper the headline is screaming at me “Election Day final count?” No. I’m pretty confident that when you read this Wednesday we will still be waiting for a definitive answer on the election results. And we will still be waiting for an answer about when the virus will end, waiting to see what the holidays will look like, waiting to see when school will be normal, waiting to see justice come, waiting to see the kingdom of heaven here on earth. And so, we wait. The past week I have been reading one poem daily. It’s called “Waiting,” by Sharlande Sledge, and I’ve let it sink into my impatient heart and mind and it is helping me wait.
Waiting, by Sharlande Sledge
Look upon us gently, Lord, for waiting is not our forte.
So many other things are…things like moving ahead,
fixing what’s wrong, planning what’s next,
diagnosing the problem, cramming more into a day
than one person can possibly do before the sun goes down.
But waiting….
When we are waiting for the light to shine,
when we are waiting for the Word,
when we are waiting for a wound to heal,
nothing in all the world is harder than waiting.
So, in your mercy, Lord, wait with us.
Be our very present help in waiting.
Heal our frenzy. Calm our fears.
Comfort those who at this very minute
are with every anxious breath and thought
waiting for they know-not-what.
Transform our in-the-meantime into your time,
while we wait with each other, sit with each other,
pray each other into hope,
surrounded by your presence,
even in the darkness.
Especially in the darkness.
For your reflection today:
What are you waiting for?
What is the difference between our “in-the-meantime” and
God’s time?
List and give thanks for those who wait with you and pray you into hope.
In Peace, Pastor Ruth
Community Prayer:
Gracious God, when we are waiting for results, for the virus to end, for a knowing in the midst of all the unknown, help us remember our roots are in you. Our roots anchor us in love, in grace, in mercy, in justice, in goodness, and in your compassion. Look upon us gently in all our waiting, and hold us in your presence. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.