I'm in a waiting period...waiting to be off work, waiting for the weekend, waiting for my Scentsy order to arrive, waiting for Ladies Retreat in Carmel...waiting for my life to change. I have really realized this week how much time we spend in waiting for events, time to pass or just waiting. It starts when we are young; we wait for our birthday and Christmas. We wait for school to start and school to end. We wait to graduate. We wait to hear back to see if we got that job that we want so badly or got into that college. We then wait for the weekend to be away from that job or our studies. We pray, "Oh God, please send me Prince Charming" and then we wait. When said Prince Charming does arrive, we then wait for the ring; when the ring is on our finger, we throw ourselves into planning what we are sure will be the happiest day of our lives, and wait for that certain white dress to arrive at the bridal shop. That moment we are waiting to walk down that aisle to forever change our lives may be a scary one, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is that look in his eyes when he sees his beautiful bride. That we waited for the honeymoon with Prince Charming goes without saying and we begin our happily ever after. Thus, begins a whole new time of waiting...waiting to buy our dream home...the one with the white picket fence...waiting for the happy news that instead of two, there will be three, and then waiting to hear the pitter-patter of little tiny feet. And so forth, we begin another period of waiting.
I know, other than above examples of waiting, there are so many events we await. I have never considered how much of my life has been spent waiting and really, it is sad. I don't just want to wait for life to hit me between the eyes; I want to live it, experience it, and make it count, but really even as we are living our lives making memories, we are still waiting.
Recently, I was struck by a comment a person had made saying simply, "We are not waiting on life to be perfect; this is it." I barely had time to mull over this when my hubby came home from visiting a couple we know, very thoughtful, telling me this couple has no permanent home - their home has wheels under it even though it is stationary at the moment - they do not have the many things most of us take for granted, and both of them are working all the time at menial jobs, but they do have one thing that fills their lives with joy and makes their struggle so worth it - they have a little daughter. Maybe she isn't wearing clothes bought at Baby Gap or Children's Place, but she is not aware of it; she is only aware that she has two people in her life that shower her with love and kisses and rush home to be with her. She does not care about their precarious financial state. All she wants (and needs) is to be in her daddy's arms as she smiles at her mommy.
It strikes me that in a time where people measure your life's value by the home you are living in, what kind of car you drive, and where you go on vacation, the only thing that really is the most valuable is the love you have and the love you give while waiting to slip 'the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'
Seize the moment and cherish the ones you hold in your arms!
