What Happens When…

When waiting for something to happen… and it never does, or at least not in a timely manner, what do you do with the space of time available to you? You know, that “… a watched pot never boils…” so how do you spend your time? Sitting and staring at nothing? Looking for the faint bubbling effect of water reaching 212 degrees? Thinking about nothing?

Or, do you multitask and do other important things that need to get done while waiting on the boiling action.

We are often impatient waiters. Sitting in the dentist office recently pointed that out to me. Some elderly folks came in and it seemed they were interested in simply sitting and doing nothing until they were called back, but I’ve also seen some in the same age that engages their time and accomplish something they want to do. Paying bills, reading a magazine they’ve never seen or chatted with others sitting in the waiting room.

Me? I get lost in a story I’m reading, an email I need to respond to, or even a website I need to visit. In other words, my task list is lengthy and I do not have a lot of time to wait while waiting. I may not return a phone call because of the location I’m waiting in. Why? My bride tells me my inside voice is still way too loud!

I was thinking about Jesus waiting for the cross. What did he think about during those few minutes between his arrest, the time before Caiaphas, the investigation by Pilate, the presentation to the crowd, the beating, the crown of thorns, and finally his trek to the Cross… What was he thinking about? How did he spend those hours of minutes while moving from one event to the next?

We learned that Paul and Silas sang praises at midnight while they are locked in the inner dungeon. (Acts 16:23-26) It produced miracles! Later, Paul is described as someone who converted the guards, wrote letters, and received visitors while being imprisoned.

While there would be many others who would simply wilt into the corner of their cell and bemoan the day and yearn for their release!

Here’s my thought. What we don’t find is anyone of importance just doing nothing! Maybe the lesson to learn from this is knowing why we are here and what we are doing is not necessarily “work”. Rather, it’s our calling. Our vision. Our Duty. We fill our schedule with things that need to be done and we stress when things don’t get done. We’ve learned to delegate and test the waters of success by those we depend on getting things done, but we don’t sit around waiting on them to do what you know you may be able to do better!

If you are simply a “waiter” you will watch the task in front of you waiting until it’s done so you can do your next step.

Sometime back I anchored a tweet to the top of my Twitter Feed and it’s my goal to remember why I’m here every single day.

How about you? Do you know why you are here? Is it simply to play the Waiting Game? Or is there something you do to fill your hours in between the tasks you are waiting to be finished? Just curious….