28 November 2025 Waiting
- quietspacesplymout
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
Prayer
God of waiting, whose patience knows no end, we ask that you will be present here with us this morning, as we ponder our waiting … however that might transpire. We ask your presence and blessing on all who wait – on all who wait anxiously, and all who wait with joy and hope. May we, by your grace, be aware of your presence with us and in us each day. Amen
Judy’s Reflections
When I first thought that waiting might be an appropriate theme for our November meeting — as we draw near to Advent — I suddenly realised that much of my own experience this year has centered on waiting.
Waiting to move house at the beginning of the year …Waiting, while feeling very unwell, for medical appointments … results … and decisions … Then, after surgery … in hospital … just waiting … and waiting … and waiting.For many practical things, of course — tests … medication … visits from doctors and other medics.
During the less busy times in hospital, the waiting was joined by wondering …How will I ever walk again?When could I have a real meal again? And as time went on, I realised that this was precious time — time for pondering in the waiting.
People often asked if I was bored — and that was an understandable question … when all I could do was lie there — and ponder … snooze … and listen to Michael Caine’s dulcet tones as I revisited Elephant to Hollywood on Audible!At that stage, I wasn’t really into replying to messages — or asking for knitting to be brought in.
But … it was anything but boring.
Through God’s grace, somehow, right from the beginning, I had not felt afraid.Perhaps I hadn’t the energy to be afraid …but I was simply able to let go, and let God.
I truly believe that this time of waiting — and sometimes, of not even thinking — was part of my gentle recovery.I was able to sleep … rest … and watch the life of the ward unfold — the different views from the windows … the quiet rhythm of each day.
I was blessed to hear the stories of many of the lovely staff at Derriford and Mount Gould …and I felt a very real sense of God’s presence each day — in everything that happened.That awareness sustained me in the waiting …both in hospital, and during the weeks and months after returning home.
Although we might wish to focus especially on waiting - in the light of Advent and Christmas, we may also find it helpful to look deeper —into our own experiences … our thoughts … our delights … and even our fears of waiting.
And so, as we enter this time of stillness and quiet this morning,may we trust that the Holy Spirit will guide us — in all sorts of ways — in the stillness and silence this morning, and through our own ongoing times of waiting. Rev Judy Greenfield
Blessing
Blessing for Waiting by Jan Richardson
Who wait for the night to end
bless them.
Who wait for the night to begin
bless them.
Who wait in the hospital room
who wait in the cell
who wait in prayer
bless them.
Who wait for news
who wait for the phone call
who wait for a word
who wait for a job
a house
a child
bless them.
Who wait
for one who
will come home
who wait
for one who
will not come home
bless them.
Who wait with fear
who wait with joy
who wait with peace
who wait with rage
who wait for the end
who wait for the beginning
who wait alone
who wait together -bless them.
Who wait
without knowing
what they wait for - or why
bless them.
Who wait
when they should not wait
who wait
when they should be in motion
who wait
when they need to rise
who wait
when they need to set out
bless them.
Who wait for the end of waiting
who wait for the fullness of time
who wait
emptied and - open - and ready
who wait for you,
o bless.
Jan Richardson, Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons (Wanton Gospeller Press , 2015). See janrichardson.com.
Thoughts to Ponder
… some thoughts from Henri Nouwen
How do we wait?
Waiting with a sense of promise
Waiting actively
Waiting being very present to the moment
Waiting – open ended
Waiting – Letting go of my wishes, and starting hoping
Giving up control over our future and letting God define our life
What is the nature of waiting? Most of us consider waiting as something very passive, a hopeless state determined by events totally out of our hands. The bus is late? We cannot do anything about it, so we have to sit there and just wait. It is not difficult to understand the irritation people feel when somebody says, “Just wait.” Words like that push us into passivity.
But there is none of this passivity in Scripture. Those who are waiting are waiting very actively. They know that what they are waiting for is growing from the ground on which they are standing. Right here is a secret for us about waiting. If we wait in the conviction that a seed has been planted and that something has already begun, it changes the way we wait. Active waiting implies being fully present to the moment with the conviction that something is happening where we are and that we want to be present to it. A waiting person is someone who is present to the moment, believing that this moment is the moment.But there is more. Waiting is open-ended. Open-ended waiting is hard for us because we tend to wait for something very concrete, for something that we wish to have.Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary were not filled with wishes. They were filled with hope. Hope is something very different. Hope is trusting that something will be fulfilled, but fulfilled according to the promises and not just according to our wishes. Therefore, hope is always open-ended.
The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, trusting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our own imagination, fantasy, or prediction. That, indeed, is a very radical stance toward life in a world preoccupied with control.
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” - Isaiah 40: 31 (NIV) Henri Nouwen
John O Donohue - from For a New Beginning
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,Where your thoughts never think to wander,This beginning has been quietly forming,Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
Thomas Merton
The secret country is a country of loneliness and of a kind of hunger, of silence, of perplexity, of waiting, of strange hopes: where men expect the impossible to be born but do not always dare to speak of their hopes.
A Prayer from Thomas Merton
My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going.I cannot see the road ahead of me
and I do not know for certain where it will end.Nor do I know myself,and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always.
Though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death,
I will not fear,for you are ever with me,and will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
Revd Dr Sam Wells writes“In Advent, dare to feel the depth. Never mind the width. If you're tired of waiting, go deeper … “
Let us consider … how it might feel to ‘be waiting for the war to end’ … whether in Gaza, Ukraine, several parts of Africa and the Middle East, and the places we never hear about in the media. What might the people be expecting? Are they waiting with anxiety, hope, hatred … love?There are many poems and thoughts written about ‘Waiting’ -including this one which I share today:
A poem about Waiting Well – by Alabi Abimbola
Life can seem an endless maze,
The twists and turns, lulls and delays,
But things always fall into place...In good time.
Friends will sometimes go away.
Some may disappoint or others betray,
But new ones will come to stay...In good time.
The hurt of getting something wrong,
And the lesson it often brings along
Are there, you see, to make you strong...In good time.
Kindness freely given away,
Unnoticed now, will somehow find its way
Back to you and come to stay...In good time.
Efforts seem not to pay to plan?
Forge on friend, doing the best you can.
Fortune will find the deserving man...In good time life can be tough, there's no doubt,
But hope is the thing we can't do without.Right things with joy will come about...In good time.
‘Waiting’ Judy Greenfield Adapted from the original which I wrote for our Advent Group in Brighton & Hove, in 2012Oh how we wait and yearn for thee .....
Your birth brought joy to those
who heard the news from the light of angels –
The days of your childhood ... we know not much -
Your family fled in fear when you were young ...
And Nazareth became your family home.
What else was there to know in these early years
about you Lord, who came
to live on earth?
Suddenly you were a grown man – a Rabbi
who didn’t seem to conform.
Disciples met and followed you –
The crowds came from near and far to hear you
and see those many miracles ... as you taught
about your Father’s kingdom.
Too soon hatred grew in some ... and
your passion, cross and dying shed a grim shadow
and then – your resurrection brought light to those who loved.
Two thousand years on .....
The world is still full of hatred and war – and the desire for power and control; with tragedies, murders, starvation and deprivation hitting our news several times a day …
The world is noisy ... and we seek for quietness and calm.
Advent – is this not the time when we wait for you O Lord?
How can we focus when the world feels in such turmoil -
everyone around us is rushing ...
lights are blazing – people are dashing – the days seem to pass so quickly...
while all we want to do is to wait –
in stillness … in the quietness ....
knowing your love...
your promises ...
that you will heal
and give peace... and
come again.O how we wait - and yearn for you ....
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