Home Tools for your Journey April 4

Friday, April 4

While the bridegroom was delayed, they all became sleepy and slept.
—Matthew 25:5

We all know what it is like to wait. If we have to wait too long, we get bored and fidgety. We try to think of things that will keep us occupied. We worry that something might be wrong. We stare at the clock or our watch, and the minutes move as slowly as thick blackstrap molasses. Finally, when we have waited past our ability to make sense of the delay, sleepiness sweeps over us like a foggy cloud and becomes a temporary closure to the angst of waiting.

Suppose, however, that our souls chose to be awake during periods of waiting in our lives. Suppose we became aware of the very emptiness of waiting itself and found the grace inherent in such blank, empty time. Suppose that instead of focusing on the reasons why our waiting has been prolonged, we became attentive to every beating sound, every subtle scent, every movement of airflow, or even the steady thump of our own heart. Suppose we were so alert that we could even hear the shout of silent stones?

Waiting can become a nourishing tonic for a soul that has slipped into sleepiness, but only if we choose to wake up.

O God, spread the beauty of waiting before me like a soft blanket, and let my soul be awake to its touch.