Pilgrim's Progress column with Brian Morris: Waiting isn't always easy
‘God, give me patience! And I want it right now!’ Waiting isn’t always easy, but sometimes, it’s inevitable; part of the process, like waiting for the dough to rise before a loaf of bread is baked.
Sometimes, it can bring unexpected benefits.
I’m a keen nature photographer, and a few years ago, I was waiting for cloud to clear the sun to illuminate a landscape shot; and while I was waiting, a hare ran up the track and sat down about 30 feet away from me; so, as well as the landscape, I also got a perfect portrait of a hare!
When we look back, we can often see a pattern in events, which helps us make sense of them; but, when we look into the future, we see possibilities, which are not always compatible; and, almost inevitably, there will be possibilities we do not recognize, and which take us by surprise. When we look back at the events which the church has been celebrating since Easter; the resurrection and ascension into heaven of Jesus, there’s a sense of pattern, but on Sunday, May 24, that pattern will be broken, by an event which, although Jesus had prepared his disciples for it, must have come as a surprise; the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
‘The unexpected doesn’t always happen; but when it does, it always happens when you don’t expect it!’ It’s so easy to see it as a distraction, an annoyance; but we often need to see it as an opportunity to learn, to grow, to acquire new insights as we see things differently, and develop new skills to make the best use of a new world. It’s what the church has been doing for 2,000 years, as we work together to reveal God’s kingdom in our lives.
Brian Morris, St John's, Wakefield