The Beauty of Waiting: Slowing Down to See What’s Right in Front of You

If you want to practice the art of waiting, go ahead and move your Keurig out of the way and step back into a simpler time with a percolator. It takes 17 minutes to make the perfect cup of coffee, 17 minutes, friends.

And yes, every single morning, I sing the song: “It’s time for the percolator…” if you were wondering. 😂

Lately, I’ve been really intentional about slowing down. Taking life in. Looking up from my own little world and actually seeing people.

Seeing People in the Everyday Moments

Yesterday, in what may have been Walmart at its absolute worst, I watched the sweetest older couple trying their hardest to use the self-checkout. Bless their hearts. It took a very long time. It held up the line.

But rather than being annoyed, I smiled. And I saw them. I saw their sweetness as a couple, their resilience to not let new technology take them down.

While waiting for my oldest to get out of swim practice, I sat in the pool lobby and had several great conversations with beautiful people about their seasons. One was a teacher from the Philippines, the other a grandfather who was watching his 4 grandkids while their parents were off enjoying the weekend in Asheville.

The Long Wait at Journey to Bethlehem

Last night, I waited… and waited… as my youngest ended her shift at the Journey to Bethlehem at the midnight hour. I arrived at 10:30 and decided to go through the program for the 2nd time this week.

An hour journey alone in my car, but I was able to see the actors, see the cars next to me enjoy the program. I saw the parking team, who had been out there for hours, as well as the hot chocolate ladies and greeters, all with smiles of joy as people from all over came to hear the story of Jesus.

My Prayer for This Season: Slow Down and See

In this season, I’ve been praying for two things:

• To see people. Really see them.

• To slow down long enough to actually do it.

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And that takes waiting. Getting out of my own agenda. Making space to notice the people right in front of me.

Advent and the Hope That Comes in the Waiting

This week in Advent, we focus on Hope — and if you think about it, hope is waiting.

Hope is the anticipation of something you know will come… just not in your timing. Like picking up your kid from their shift at Journey to Bethlehem — ha.

As we light the first candle, we are hoping and waiting for Jesus’ birth. But sometimes we’re in such a rush to “get there” that we forget the sacred sweetness of the people and moments right in front of us.

Just like that good cup of coffee, waiting can hold beauty.

What Happens When We Stop Rushing?

What if we stopped rushing through everything? What if we enjoyed the 17 minutes? The wait in line?

What if we looked around, noticed what God placed right in front of us, and thanked Him for it?

How would that change us?

Here’s to the 17 Minutes

So here’s to the 17 minutes.

To slowing down.

To seeing people.

To hope that doesn’t disappoint.

And to the God who meets us in the waiting.