The Benefits of Active Waiting

Waiting wastes time. Or does it?

 

Do you ever feel irritated as a stoplight turns red-green-yellow then red again, and you’re still not through the intersection? Me, too! Inching along tests my patience. Through all of those times of waiting at an intersection, I’ve learned another way: active waiting. Instead of fretting, I can people-watch, take a deep breath, or say a prayer. Green light. Go!

 

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My friend and guest blogger, Holli Hamner, is originally from western New York. After graduating from Auburn University, she met her husband, John, at church. They’ve been married for forty-two years. Holli is a retired elementary school educator and is working on her first children’s novel. 

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Opportunities to wait sneak up on us many times a day. While passive waiting often results in irritation and frustration, active waiting can be good for us when we choose to purposefully invest in the moment. I believe there are three benefits to active waiting: refreshment, renewal, and hope.

Active Waiting Refreshes

My friend, Steve, takes active waiting to a new level.

On a hot July day, Steve found himself stuck, not inching, on I-77 just outside the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel in Virginia. Travelers faced hours of waiting as workers cleared an overturned 18-wheeler inside the tunnel. The summer sun beat down. The humidity cranked up. Misery festered for miles.

Steve rolled down the windows, turned off his minivan’s engine, and sat back to watch. Heat waves shimmered off the asphalt. Time crawled. One by one, cars that had been left running, stopped. No more gas meant no more A/C. The interstate became a quiet parking lot.

Steve took action. Behind his driver’s seat sat a carload of coolers, frozen meals, and paper supplies he planned to deliver to an elderly relative in another state. The ice chests contained cold milk and fried peach hand-pies from the Varsity in Atlanta. If you’re from Atlanta, you know those pies are golden treasures!

He delivered goodies to fellow strandees. An older lady called her son who was also stuck about a half-mile behind. She exclaimed, “You’ll never guess what a ‘carhop’ just delivered!”

A White Flag of Surrender

Back in his vehicle, Steve watched people grow uneasy. No tree line offered shade or privacy. Several yards into the barren roadside, a cluster of women formed a circle, back-to-back while, in turn, each entered the circle and found relief in the grass. Ever a prankster and provider, Steve sent help. From his driver’s seat window, he lobbed a roll of toilet paper over the car. A white flag of surrender fluttered behind this arcing grenade from “heaven”. It dropped into the circle of women.

Their cheers and laughter were Steve’s reward, along with a great story to take home. Steve refreshed hungry travelers and a woman in need. 

Active waiting isn’t the oxymoron it seems. It’s mindful, thoughtful, and if you hear Steve’s stories, humorous.

Active Waiting Renews

Not all waiting is over quickly. Some lasts a season, or years, even a lifetime.

You may say, “I’ve been waiting a week about the job interview. I’m waiting for my teen, or my soldier, or my loved one to come home. I’m waiting as disease takes its toll. I don’t have time to wait.” I’ve struggled in those same dark situations. It’s difficult to wait well. I want to fuss, maneuver past the discomfort, and fix things. It never works.

Instead, I’ve discovered an extended time of active waiting can turn delay into renewal. Nature proves this year after year. Waiting may feel brittle, like barren weeds in winter snow. But, under the frozen surface, the plants still live. They are busy, silently storing unseen resources, anticipating the tender sprouts of spring.

Without the dormant season of waiting, there is no renewal from the roots up. New growth isn’t visible. Flowers are nowhere to be seen. No new seeds are sown in the wind. Be assured though, the fruits of waiting are revealed in due time.

Active Waiting Offers Hope

Active waiting gives us time to discover another point of view, put pain in perspective, minister to others, or mend relationships. We grow in patience and empathy. As we wait well, we grow in grace, better equipped to care for ourselves and others.

What may have appeared as time wasted may have, instead, provided opportunities to rest, reflect, forgive, heal, and appreciate.

I like to remember the broader experience of all mankind, realizing we’re no different than other generations. Everyone waits, often enduring great suffering and heartache. No matter why we wait or how difficult it is, we always have hope.

From the beginning of time our world waited for the Savior. Two millennia ago, He came to earth as a baby. Hope arrived and continues to sustain us through every season of life.

My prayer for each of us, in this season of Advent and always, is that we look to Him and find joy in active waiting. Learn more about Advent traditions around the world.

Leave a comment (below): Think of a time you actively waited. What did you learn during those minutes or hours or days?