“Wait” Holds the Not-Yet, Not-Now
I sat silent in the newness of day, my Bible reading complete, journal open, asking the Lord what He wanted to share with me. I was feeling impatient with the pain that lingered in my back, also restless for face-to-face connection during this time of social distancing. His words came sharp and quick.
WAIT
that is a harder word
than do or go, or even stop
wait asks for stillness
trust, the essence of faith
wait holds the not yet
not now, but also holds
the perfect present
Wait. Now that’s a word worth pondering. We are all waiting. Even creation itself is waiting.
That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens. Romans 8:19-21, The Message
Wait – A Different Kind of Music
My prompt for you this month is the word wait or the idea of waiting. Allow the word to stir your spirit. Take your time, rest with it. Trust that words will develop their own music, as C. K. Williams says below:
“Poems have a different music from ordinary language, and every poem has a different kind of music of necessity, and that’s,
in a way, the hardest thing about writing poetry is waiting for that music, and sometimes you never know if it’s going to come.”
Some things that might start your own symphony:
- What have you long been waiting for?
- How hard is it for you to wait?
- How would you teach the idea of waiting to a child?
- Have you seen the fruit that resulted from a long wait? How did it taste?
It Is Again a Time of Waiting
Here is a small poem that waiting gave me:
It is again a time of waiting
Spring drifts in skittish
her fragrance lingers
only brief moments
before taking flight
taste and see
taste and see
sweet mingles spice
yet He Is good
rain chills the air
refusing to fall
new growth awaits
the water
and the warm
each page I turn
speaks of surrender
letting go
letting Him
while the April winds sing
patience is a lesson that takes a lifetime to learn…
Submission Guidelines
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Enjoy the prompt.
We look forward to reading the poems that spill forth!
More Poetry Prompts
Shaking Off Numbness to Reach for Joy
I don’t think I am alone in this fight to shake off numbness and reach for joy. And I don't want to become comfortable with this frozen feeling.
Make Me Poems: Leaning into Metaphor for Poetry and Prayer
Abigail Carroll said these are poems of lament. In writing these “Make Me” poems, she began to lean into metaphor, changing not only how she wrote but also how she prayed.
Karin Fendick
Chronic Joy® Poetry Coordinator & Writer
Karin is a handmaiden of the Lord, saved by grace, a worshiper, a poet, a broken heart, a lover of words, hungry for truth, amazed by love, on the Potter's wheel His work in progress. After five years in Africa, Karin and her beloved husband of twenty years, Rick, are back in rural Canada where chronic pain drives her to the feet of Jesus. She is powered by prayer, love, and many cups of strong coffee. She is the author of From Ashes to Glory (A Psalm a Day).
I’m excited to see what stirs in your spirits
wait and waiting
long and hard…
This is such a good word for a poetry prompt this month. It seems that waiting is all we are hearing, every where we turn. Thank you for sharing this Karin!