A pep talk for when you’re playing the waiting game
Finding gratitude for the gift of time
Two years ago, I spent the entire day walking. I did laps of stairs, loops of the open neighborhood curbs, tangents on trails, and covered over 10 miles trying to get the baby to come out of me.
Months prior, I had been certain she’d come early (lol), but here we were, well past my due date, with no signs of emergence. I didn’t dislike being pregnant – in fact, I really enjoyed it! I was just ready to get on with it! I was sick of waiting and so frustrated with the uncertainty.
How do you handle seasons of waiting?
In general, I’m pretty impatient. I am not good at waiting for what I want. As an Enneagram 7, I often plan ahead and hope for what’s next and then loathe the boring or hard work that comes before actually realizing each big, new dream – even (maybe especially?) if that hard work is simply to wait.
When things get in the way of our hopes for what’s next, it can feel like a big, fat NO. But sometimes, a block is instead saying, not yet; just wait a bit.
What if waiting was a gift? Something to be grateful for instead of resentful?
When we are forced to wait for what’s next, we are given more time for what currently is – we’re given the gift of time.
Are you stuck in a not-yet season? Have you been given the gift of time?
In March 2023, I was given an incredible gift of time. I was in a not-yet season of waiting.
Italians say, non vedo l’ora which means I can’t wait! when it literally translates to “I cannot see the hour.” I love the juxtaposition of blind hope and faithful enthusiasm for the wonderful things that will come sometime in an unknown future. There is clear trust in the act of waiting.
My best-laid plans are never the timelines that work out, and gosh, is that annoying. But when life unfolds against the timing of my wishes, it’s more beautiful than I could have imagined.
And so we practice waiting.
Two years ago, while I was very pregnant and waiting, I got massages and went to yoga. My husband and I had spontaneous date days and ate at fancy restaurants. I slept and walked and read books and, yes, also had moments – many hours – of impatience and irritability, wishing the baby would hurry up already!
I don’t have a magic bullet for making it easier to wait. But I do know that this reminder has been helpful for me. When it feels like I’m stuck in a hard season, only waiting for what comes next, if I settle in and look around, I can find a surprising amount of joy to soak up from this unique time and place in life. If we only look ahead, what are we missing about where we are?
If you are muddling through something tough or impatiently yearning for what’s next, stay the course. You’re not alone. And look around at your in-between – what can you experience while you’re here?
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