The waiting time

I have decided that of all the gifts Africa gives me in our season here, she will undoubtedly give me the gift of a waiting time. I have waited more in this past month than any other month I can remember. We have no car of our own yet, so we wait for taxis to come or for kind friends to give us rides. We have no microwave or toaster in our kitchen, so we wait for food to heat up on the stove. We have a fickle internet connection at our house, so we wait for pages to load… or not load. We have power outages here, so we wait for the electricity to turn on again. We have no washing machine or dryer, so we wait for clothes to be washed by hand and hung up to dry in the hot sun.

As I encounter these waiting times, I recognize the need for patient surrender. When a situation is out of my control, grumbling and raging bring no helpful change to the circumstances, and they only sadden me and others affected by my attitude.

But I am finding that patient waiting involves not only surrender, but also a kind of activity, a certain gathering up of courage and creativity, gratitude and grit. When our internet connection fails, I can't fix it, but I can wander outside with my family and discover a chameleon creeping among the backyard bushes. When our taxi driver is late, I can't hurry him, but I can sing songs and enjoy the fact that we are ready for him to come. When the power goes out, I can't take a warm shower, but I can boil pots of water and give the little ones bucket baths.

Last week, my children and I walked down a dusty road to the home of our "dada," the lovely Tanzanian woman who comes to help us each morning. We walked in the heat of the day and without knowing how long the journey would be, and after fifteen minutes, my small son was in tears. My arms were already full of his little sister, so I could not carry him as well. All that was left for me was to encourage him to be brave, to keep walking, to trust that I am here for him and want good for him. And isn't that how the Spirit of Jesus speaks to us? "Keep walking, brave one. That's it, one step and then another. It's a long road, and I know you're tired, but I think you got this. I'm with you all the way."

As I surrender to the waiting times (uncomfortable though they may be), I pray that my small steps of courage will help me become the kind of person who waits cheerfully, who waits patiently, who waits knowing that perseverance produces character, and character, hope.