PATIENTLY WAITING

James 5:7

So be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious crop from his land, being patient with it until it receives the fall and the spring rains.

During my college days, I commute going to school. I live in Tondo, a district in Manila. I take four jeepney rides to reach University of the Philippines in Diliman. And in between those rides, I have to queue in line, and worse, have to wait for the next jeepney especially during rush hours. In 5 years of doing that routine, day after day, I learned to accept the concept of waiting. And actually liked it, eventually. During those waiting times, I learned to be patient - I read my books in advance, conceptualized my next poem, meet some people, and pray – that the next jeep would come soon since I would be late.

Heavenly Father, may You bless us with the virtue of patience, knowing that You are continuously working in our lives. But we must also be prepared as we wait, patiently, for Your second-coming. We have to “keep on watching, because (no one really) knows the day or the hour (Mat. 25:13)”.

Lord God, as good Christian followers, I know we were never meant to live on earth as if this is our only total experience. Our lives here are like waiting for a jeep. We have somewhere else to go. We have something else to do. And when that time has come, we can truly say that it is truly worth the wait.

“I have waited for so long
But sometimes I feel like You are not listening
Still I wait patiently and remain strong
Because it’s near, that is, Your second coming.”

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry