ANYONE who has a flower-bearing plant knows how it is to be pleasantly surprised.
Flowers of any kind—whether a cattleya, a rose, a gardenia or a single-petal gumamela—can take one’s breathe away when, without any notice, the unseen bud suddenly bursts forth in all its glory, impishly preening before one’s eyes.
The sight of a blooming flower always makes me gasp and say to myself, “It was worth the waiting!”
I woke up one early dawn, around 2:10 a.m. It was a very restless week for me because I wanted something very badly from our Lord. I didn’t actually claim God’s covenant, which is “Ask and you shall receive,” because I believe in a Father’s knowing what His child wants. He knows what really is good for us.
What struck me, though, was the thought that woke me. This came as a jolt. I just somehow felt—I didn’t just hear—but I felt His presence saying, “Be willing to wait for eventually I well unravel my plans for you, child.” What also then surprised me was my immediate reaction: “Bitaw (That’s right)!”
In hindsight, so many times in my life answers were indeed given to me. I guess I’m not a unique case because I’m sure most of you, dear friends, have been blessed with seeing the clear picture of God’s hand in the past, as He put things into place. There are no coincidences in life, no chance meetings. Everything happens for a purpose.
Sometimes, a car that you have needed for so long or a house you have always wanted to acquire is lovingly allowed to come into your budget and it becomes yours.
At other times it may be the dream job you have always wanted and you get it! Sometimes, too, it is a gift of that special item you couldn’t afford. Then out of the blue, it drops into your lap as a gift from a friend.
Even my eight-year-old Kate has learned to patiently wait for soda, which her mother forbids. Kate waits for her Dad to override her Mom’s orders! Normally, he rewards Kate with her favorite soda on special occasions.
However, ordinary mortals that we are, we act as though everything depends on us, forgetting that there is a higher Power who looks into our hearts and wants to make us happy.
If that is so, one might ask: “Why don’t we get the things that we pray so hard to get?” I don’t know. I wish I knew.
John Milton, in his poem “On His Blindness,” cried out in anguish to God as he asked in his poem: “Does God exact day labor, light denied?” However, as he progresses in his poem, his faith, his humility and his trust in God show in the last line: “They also serve, who only stand and wait!” Great was his faith as he entrusted his blindness to God.
There are so many sick people who are stricken with cancer and are in the terminal stage. While many people say “at least with cancer, one can be prepared to die,” it is easier said than done. Perhaps with the patient, one may be able to reconcile with the inevitable. But what about the family members, or what of the close relatives, and close friends?
Three of my close friends—Ludette Esmero, Sr. Merced and Minnie Dosdos—showed by their faith, courage and example on how to patiently obey God’s will as they waited for His coming.
When I hear of people who are not even ill, who have so much in life and whose impatience surfaces and resurfaces frequently, I feel like asking them to visit the free (or charity) wards at hospitals as patients poignantly fight for their lives.
Waiting for God’s bountiful blessings to come, through, can be very hard. However, when His blessings do come, you and I know that it will be worth the waiting! So be still, dear hearts, and listen for the Lord in His wisdom never fails to answer.