What does it look like to wait but still be productive? What does it look like to be in anticipation of something you cannot speed up the coming of with mere ability or effort and not have life on pause?

“I’m not content, I’m waiting to go.”

Waiting well changes the impact of your process. Whether it be your creative process or process of growing to a higher skill level, waiting within these places can be done in a way that actually adds power to your end result.

When we are trying to get to a destination and get there quickly, a lot of times there is nothing we can do to speed up the “travel” process.

In our waiting season, it’s tempting to sit and count every millisecond to the time we’re awaiting and do nothing else. While we’re counting time, God, outside of time, is sitting in front of us ready to have a conversation. He wants to talk to us about what we’ll need to know when we get to our destination. There’s a wind to lean into while we’re waiting.

If you’re a creative of any kind, you know that sometimes people think you’re doing nothing when you’re sitting and “staring into space”. In our leaning in, most times it doesn’t look like we are doing all that much. Although, most times we are doing our most important work right there… leaning in and waiting on the pieces to come together in your head. The idea, the melody, the color combination. These “waiting and leaning” moments are the moments that are essential to where we’re trying to go.  People around us may think we’re sitting on the bench watching the cars drive by, counting the seconds until that bus finally arrives, but we’re really on the edge of our seats leaning into the wind in front of us telling us all about where we’re going next with the colors we’re putting together, the notes we’re combining, or the strategies we’re laying out. All of a sudden the bus arrives and the time spent waiting changed our hearts forever.

We’re stronger here.

I think we get frustrated about having to wait because when we’re not “doing” we feel like something is being wasted, and we naturally don’t enjoy wasting anything. We don’t like the feeling of wasting emotions, or time, or energy. We think having to wait is a weakness because we’re stagnant or still while the rest of the cars are zooming past us. We think we are strongest in our rush, but what if I told you our efforts aren’t that impactful if we’re missing what’s meant to be grown on the inside. Consider you were asked to give an impactful speech. What makes your speech powerful is not how long you can speak without stopping and how loud you can yell it, but the substance within your speech, and those pauses in between your words that let every careful word sink in past the surface of the ears that are listening. Like when David writes his psalm and writes in a “selah”, because he knows a moment to pause strengthens every word. It is our strength to sit back and yield. It is our strength to wait, not our weakness. You are strong when you choose stillness at the times where you want to pick up and start running toward your next bus stop when you really could just wait for your bus to arrive. There’s something on the bus that’s coming that’s going to change your life forever. Lean in at the bus stop while it’s coming. There are others beside that are waiting too. They may have taken this bus before; they may have been on your route before. They may know something you’ll want to know. There is a joy for you in your waiting because it will be well worth what’s coming.  Are you ready for it?