“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:14
No one can teach a lesson like Dr. Seuss, such as this one from Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
“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 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 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. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy! . . . Oh, the places you’ll go!”
Like it or not we all enter The Waiting Place from time to time; although we’re not patient about it, especially in this fast paced internet age where we’ve come to expect instantaneous everything. Plus, we are doers who have been taught to believe that doing is a virtue and idleness is not, and waiting feels like idleness.
Waiting is one of those experiences St. John of the Cross might describe as “the dark night of the soul.” Except, the “dark night” of which he speaks is not bad or destructive as we might believe, nor is its purpose to punish or afflict us in any way. Rather, it is a time that is meant to set us free to anticipate, dream about, and prepare for what is to come even when it feels as if it will never be. It is simply The Waiting Place as Dr. Seuss calls it, a place to get ready for when the perfect job opportunity comes along, or the right person enters our lives; the proper treatment for healing, or relief after a long struggle; acceptance of an application, or money to make a purchase; the birth of a child, or an answer to prayer. Yes, sooner or later you’ll escape all that waiting and staying and find yourself in bright places where Boom Bands are playing. So, “be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Then – “Oh, the places you’ll go!”