This picture is a simple funny typo (at least I hope), but it reminds me of a saying my dad used to say all the time, “I’m going to belt you into the second Tuesday of next week.” This was his type of joking. I would spend a lot of time wondering and asking him when is the second Tuesday. Is that Thursday? It wasn’t Thursday. It was a day that never comes.

I’m an impatient waiter. I don’t like to wait. I want what I want and I want it now.  I often feel like the child at Christmas time impatiently waiting for the day to come to open presents. For me, anticipation can quickly lead to frustration when I am left waiting. This past summer we planned to take a short trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior. It is a beautiful area, and I couldn’t wait to go hiking. I spent the entire summer looking forward and planning for the trip. Due to circumstances beyond my control that trip didn’t happen. Now we are planning for next summer. disappointment took over. This can happen in many aspects of our lives on the home front and the work front.

Advent is a season that is all about waiting. We are waiting and preparing for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. This period of impatiently waiting reminds me of how great our God is. He gives us more than we can imagine. He gives us Jesus.

Be strong and let your hearts take courage,
All you who wait for and confidently expect the Lord. (Psalm 31: 24 AMP).

There is value in waiting. The anticipation and desire that builds while we wait strengthens us. It teaches us appreciation, perserverence, understanding and courage, if we let it. It brings greater value to what we are waiting for. God knows that handing us everything we want right now doesn’t shape us into his likeness. Rather it would spoil us and make us more demanding and more like the world around us.

I choose to be set apart from the world even if that means impatiently waiting. I know God is strengthening me as I wait. I know the reward is better than I imagined. Whether its waiting for the family vacation, the next thing on the work front, or that seemingly unanswered prayer, I choose to believe that He has it all figured out and will unveil it to me at the appointed time.

Are you an impatient waiter? Do you embrace waiting as we are taught through Advent? Share how you cope with waiting and inspire others.