It’s waiting and patience or waiting and frustration season. We sing “Peace on Earth; good-will to men,” but get in the line of shopping traffic or in a checkout line that winds like a snake and seem to dismiss peace. It’s a rare commodity in a celebration of Peace come to earth.

Part of the problem is our lack of patience for waiting. In any month of the year we operate life in a waiting mode. I make doctor appointments for 9 a.m. but realize that really means 9:30 or 9:45. That’s why I always carry a book to waiting rooms.

A month ago I planted a tub-size patch of spinach and “waited” for their slow germination. Now I’m “waiting” for the small plants to reach a harvesting size. Waiting is what all farmers do.

This past summer when we traveled to Italy, we grew accustomed to waiting in lines. Tourists do a lot of that if they expect to see treasured things and places. After taking our turns at the lines we were willing to endure, we finished up in customs. The lines moved at a reasonable speed, but the maze of ropes and turns was a true test on patience.

I’ve been given the opportunity to do additional writing this year and that involves waiting too. Waiting for inspiration or waiting for wording intros are common companions in my writing.

And that check that’s “in the mail” — we’ve all waited for that. Waiting definitely fills a major portion of life.

A recent devotional pushed me against a wall of conviction when it asked me how long I waited on God in my prayer closet. If waiting is a valid part of every day, just how much time do I spend waiting on God — to seek His direction for the day — His concerns over people and situations?

Hebrews gives fresh insight on waiting — “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” I pray God doesn’t have to “wait” on me to grow more passionate about “waiting” on Him.

Letters to Camille Anding can be sent to P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS, 39602, or e-mailed to camille@datalane.net.