I was reading a children's book ( Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss or Theodore Geisel) to my nephew that other day, and I was struck by something the book said about waiting:
"You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing."
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing."
(Before I go into my thoughts, I will say that I do enjoy this book and a lot of the message is very courageous and great for kids to hear!) I was thinking about this portion of the book, and thinking how right now my husband and I are in a waiting place. I got a message from my adoption agency contact yesterday in which she said that she knew she was asking me to do the very hardest thing in waiting. We have done everything we can on our home study and preparing and filling out an endless amount of forms ... but now, it's time for us to wait. We will either be finding out soon that we will be parents this year, or we'll be finding out that we have to wait a little longer for this favorite dream to come true. And, I think that Dr. Seuss has a good point that much of waiting is very useless - if we're waiting for life to begin, or not enjoying what is happening and not getting involved in life. BUT, I think that in some ways, waiting is often beyond our control, and waiting CAN actually be a very useful place for leaning in on our trust in God. I'm reminded of a favorite passage in Scripture that says: "Be Still and Know that I am God!" (Psalm 46:10). There ARE times when waiting is the only thing we can do - waiting on direction from God, waiting on prayers we have prayed, waiting on something we have put in His hands. Waiting can be a place of so much growth and deepened dependence on God - and that is anything but useless!
So, as we sit in this "waiting place" of our adoption journey, we choose to lean on God and trust that He will bring us out in His good time. No, we won't stop living and stop loving and growing in this waiting place, but we will be still and know that He is God and we will leave our dreams in His very loving hands.
