Skip to main content

Waiting

"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"Just give me a minute to finish this; then I'll get you one."
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
 "What did I just say?  Yes, when I've finished doing what I'm doing."
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"I heard you the first five times, OK?  Ten more seconds."
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"Mum, I want a driiiiink!  Nooooowwwww!"

No, patient waiting is most definitely not a natural human attribute!  Most of us gradually learn to control our toddler tendencies to kick and scream if something hasn't arrived by the time we finish our sentence, but we still aren't often that good at waiting.  Especially if we don't know why there's a delay, can't see why there has to be a delay, and have three other places to be by five o'clock and really, this was the last thing we needed on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.  Don't they know how important our time is???

But, hard as waiting is for us, I think we all recognise that it's a valuable thing to learn.  Sure, I'm a fallible mother.  Sometimes I keep my kid waiting just because I can't be bothered to get off the sofa.  But on my better days...

I want him to learn that other people have needs and desires that are just as important as his own.  So I finish what I need to do before attending to what he wants.

I want him to learn not to be selfish and demanding.  So I don't jump to fulfil his every whim at the first time of asking.

I want him to learn patience and self-control.  So he gets to eat dinner when everyone's ready to eat, not just when he's ready.

And I want him to learn that sometimes, waiting makes a moment even more special.  So that pile of presents is staying tantalisingly under the tree until Christmas Day.

It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Isaiah 25:9

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reading for Spiritual Formation

Do you read books in order to live a better life? I read books for lots of reasons, ranging from escapism and enjoyment to information and obligation.  In some sense, every book we read lodges somewhere inside us, affecting who we are and how we react to life.  I am the product of many books (far too many, some would say!) Not my library! (Image: Pixabay) Last year, though, I read four books with the specific intention of growing spiritually.  These four books were chosen by the Renovaré Book Club.  Renovaré Book Club Renovaré wasn't a name I'd come across before.  Turns out that it's a Christian group founded by Richard Foster (who wrote Celebration of Discipline ) and involving Dallas Willard (who wrote The Spirit of the Disciplines ), which probably gives you a good idea of their emphasis!  I was impressed with the quality of resources offered with the book club - podcasts, articles, discussion boards, online Q&A - and I also thought they'd done a good job get
2 comments
Read more

Baby Language

For some reason baby equipment is an area in which American English differs markedly from British English. As well as learning how to care for a baby, we had to learn a whole new vocabulary! Fortunately we are now fluently bilingual, and I have compiled a handy US-UK baby dictionary for you. Diaper n. Nappy Mom says if you can read this change my diaper. The first time you change one of these you will be all thumbs and stick the little adhesive tabs to yourself, the baby and probably the changing mat before you get them where they ought to go. A few years later you will be able to lasso a running toddler and change them before they even know what's happened (yes, I have seen it done). You will also get through more diapers than you ever thought possible, creating scary amounts of expense and waste. Hence we are now mostly using: Cloth diaper n. Reusable nappy Cool baby. No longer those terry squares, the main drawback is that there are now so many types it can be qu
5 comments
Read more

our new apartment

Moving was a slightly surreal experience given that our new place looks almost exactly the same as the old one, except for being a different layout. That's what you get for living in a throw-'em-up-and-pack-'em-in apartment complex I guess - albeit a very nice one. So, entering apartment 433: To your right is the master bedroom: with en-suite bathroom: and looking back, from your left, that's a walk-in closet, door to the hallway and door to the bathroom: Following the layout so far? OK, go back to the hallway and put your back to the front door again, and this time walk straight forwards into the sitting room: As you can see, ahead of you is the door to the balcony: for which I have grand plans for a herb garden and other plants. Leading off the living room is the dining area: and if you walk through that and round to your right you reach the kitchen: Go back through the living room again: and if you turn right (
3 comments
Read more