There Is Joy in Waiting

"Willing to wait ma'am?" asked the crew of the restaurant. I wanted to give the crew a stern look. In this day and age, who wants to wait?

But I waited anyway...

I wanted to start this with the story of how my heart got broken but as I recall how things are going on in my life, I figured, it just doesn't matter much anymore.

The past two years had been a roller-coaster with lows and highs. The icing on the cake? The many places I was able to visit.

There were seas, falls, mountains, amusement rides, markets, and museums... so many things I saw and conquered.

Friends also made most of my trips happier. And when we are not busy riding buses, we are out somewhere pigging out. (This I write to remind myself that I have to start losing weight now)

What would I do without friends?

And of course, there's my family- my anchor and fortress.

Waiting, they say, is a process with two options: first is to spend it complaining how things seem to never change; second is to enjoy every bit of it.

Poets often compare life to seasons:

It is spring when we feel most abundant- a time when blessings, joys, laughs come without limits.

It is summer when we are given more time to enjoy the sun, the fruits of our labor, and the joy of simply letting things be.

It is autumn when the colors start to change and we need to brace ourselves for whatever cold we have to endure later on.

It is winter when we have to endure a moment of distance and coldness. This is a time when life reveals who will stay to keep us warm and toasted amidst the strongest storms.

Little do we realize that in between all these is the season of waiting- a time when things transition from one to another.

Often, my impatience gets the better of me. I will feel worried about things almost incessantly. I fill my mind with thoughts of not being able to do things or not having what I prayed for.

My shoulders will be hunched and the creases in my forehead almost a permanent fixture.

I hate uncertainties. I hate having to wait for something which I feel am deserving of.

But life does not operate that way.

A friend once told me: I am in the waiting season and the best that I can do is to enjoy what life has prepared for me.

Treks, swimming outings, great food, and great experiences later, I realized what he just told me.

We couldn't change how the past seasons have gone but the season of waiting will prepare us for the best that is yet to come.

And, just like lining up in a restaurant, our blessings are served best, when we are willing to wait.