Waiting

Here is a beautiful poem sent to my by my amazing mother-in-law, a continual source of support and encouragement in my life.  When the wait and uncertainty of life feel like too much to bear, this offers food for thought and encouragement for the journey.  I will post the author once I find him or her.

WAIT

Desperately, helplessly, longingly I cried. 

Quietly, patiently, lovingly He replied. 

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate, 

And the Master said gently, “Child, you must wait.” 

“Wait – You say ‘wait’”, my indignant reply. 

“Lord, I need answers. I need to know why. 

Is Your hand shortened or have You not heard? 

By faith I have asked and I’m claiming Your Word. 

My future and all to which I can relate 

Hangs in the balance, and You tell me, “Wait” 

I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go ahead sign 

Or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign. 

And Lord, You’ve promised that if we believe, 

We need to but ask and we shall receive. 

And Lord, I’ve been asking. 

“I need a reply!” 

And quietly, softly I learned of my fate 

As my Master replied once again,  “you must wait.” 

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and thought, 

And grumbled to God and said, “So I’m waiting for what?” 

He seemed to kneel and His eyes met with mine, 

And He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign. 

I could shake the heavens and darken the sun. 

I could raise the dead and cause the mountains to run. 

All you seek I could give and pleased you would be. 

You would have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me. 

You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint. 

You would not know the power I give to the faint. 

You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair. 

You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there. 

You’d not know the joy of resting in Me, 

When darkness and silence was all you could see. 

You would never experience that fullness of love, 

As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove. 

You would know that I give – and I save for a start, 

But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late in the night. 

The faith that I give when you walk without sight. 

That depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask 

Of an infinite God who makes what you have last. 

And you never would know, should your pain quickly flee, 

What it means that “My grace is sufficient for thee;” 

Yes, your dreams for that loved one o’re night could come true; 

But, oh the loss, if you lost what I’m doing in you. 

So be silent, My child, and in time you will see 

That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me. 

And though oft may My answers seem terribly late, 

My most precious answer of all is still, “Wait!”