Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

When we were right out of college a few of my friends moved out to southern California – mainly for surfing, as the waves are considerably better there. One summer I went out to visit and I got to surf Black’s Beach just north of San Diego. 

I have this great memory of my friend Dan. When we got to the beach, he paddled way to the outside of the break. And I remember thinking, Dan, you’re never going to catch a wave out there! Sure enough, he sat and sat. But then out of the blue, this big set came sweeping in out of the south – and I see Dan gliding across this beautiful big wave.  

At that point, I followed Dan back way outside. And then I sat and I sat… After a while, I thought, enough of this, and I paddled back inside with the crowd. Not five minutes later, once again Dan takes off on a beautiful blue sweeping set wave. And so I paddled back out. And I sat and sat and sat before paddling back in. This same scene was repeated all morning. Dan getting the biggest and best waves – while we got the scraps. 

I asked Dan later, how do you know where to sit? How do you know when those big set waves are coming? You’re like the surfing mystic. Dan smiled and said: “Good things come to those who wait!”

But waiting is hard, isn’t it? And waiting for waves is one thing… It is another thing to wait for something more serious – like waiting for a diagnosis, or waiting for a teenager to come home in the middle of the night, or for the word to filter down about layoffs a work…

Waiting is hard. Especially in our fast-paced technological society. We live in this time when we have the world at our fingertips… And our expectations to have things where we want and when we want have grown exponentially… And more and more, when we don’t get it, when our expectations aren’t met, we get frustrated. We get angry. We get impatient. We become impatient with our children, impatient with each other, and impatient with ourselves. And even with small things then, what happens to our stress level? What happens to our sense of being at peace with the world around us?

Yesterday I spoke about patience. Today, I pray for patience. May God grant you a sense of peace in your waiting. 

Let us pray: God of Grace, As we wait, help us to trust that something deeper is at work in us. Help us look for the opportunities that present for connection, for giving, and for receiving that abound in the waiting. Strength our hearts and grant us peace. Amen.