I saw them together every morning.  Just the two of them.  The younger male, and his elder.

I never knew who the elder was.  In my mind, I assumed that he was a grandfather.  It just seemed to sit well with me that he was.

But every morning, he was there.  With the younger male.

I often wondered what they talked about.  Perhaps it was the weather.  Maybe they traded stories about good times long past and those soon to come.  Or maybe they just waited together in silence.

But the point is that he waited with him.

Every day he waited.  Whether there was rain or wind, whether it was warm or chilly, he waited.

I saw this on my drive to work for months, and I thought about the message that the younger man was receiving from this elder, someone who loved him dearly and obviously cared for him.  How wonderful is it to know that there is someone who cares enough to wait WITH you?

See, this is different than waiting for you.  Waiting for you, is the hope that you will come around, that you will decide to change, that you will make the effort to see things the way the other person sees them.  When someone is waiting FOR you, you are empowered, and you make the decision.  When someone is waiting for you, they’ve already arrived- and are anticipating your arrival; believing and hoping that you’ll get there some day.

When someone is waiting with you it’s different.  You feel loved, you feel valued, you feel important.  There’s no choice or decision for you to make in regards to that person- they are there in support of you.  Sometimes they wait quietly, and other times they speak.  But they are there.  When someone is waiting with you, they look to take the journey together.  Step by step. There’s a partnership, and a belief that we can AND will do this TOGETHER.

Waiting WITH someone.  It’s so unselfish.  It’s so sacrificial.  When you wait WITH someone, you give up your most precious commodity- your time.  You’re not worried about the things that you should have, could have, would have been doing.  You value the person enough to wait.  You realize that by waiting you’re investing in the person and the relationship, which is a gift that you could never buy in any store.

It’s weird because our relationship with God is one of waiting.  He waits patiently for us to enter into a relationship with Him, for us to spend time with Him, for us to desire to grow that relationship beyond our wildest dreams.  He waits for us.  But He also waits with us.  When everyone else is too busy, too tired, too consumed, too preoccupied; He waits with us.  He waits with us, even when our desire is to be alone; over and over again, promising that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Who waits WITH you?  With whom are you willing to wait? Are you willing to wait WITH God?

Hmmm…

Am I willing to wait with God for what He’s promised?  Am I willing to wait with God when it seems easier to walk away?  Am I willing to wait with God when the last thing that I want to do is wait?  Am I willing to wait with God when I’m tired of waiting? Am I willing to wait with God when what I’m waiting for doesn’t seem to be worth it?  Am I willing to wait…with God?

It’s challenging because I hate waiting.  I want what I want, when I want it; and I find ways to make that happen.  But there are some things that require waiting.  Sometimes I am thing that requires waiting.  I’m glad that God waits on me.  I’m glad that God waits WITH me.

If I’m gonna have to wait, I’m gonna do with God.