“Be strong and let your heart take courage; all you who wait for the Lord.”

Waiting for God is a thing we’re not always good at doing. We want answers, whether they be to medical worries, monetary woes, and/or situational chaos. We pray, then we want. At least we get that first part right—the praying—but the second part is lacking a component. Instead of ‘we pray, we want’, it should be ‘we pray, we wait’.

Theologian Tom Petty said, “The waiting is the hardest part.” Psalm 31 reminds us to be patient in our waiting and watching for God. It isn’t easy. Lord knows I’m one of the most impatient people concerning certain things—lines (of any kind), the Dallas Cowboys, and more seriously, the answers to the unknown regarding the Church. I pray daily for this church to do God’s will, to live deeper into relationship with God, and to be given the courage to go out and seek others. I pray that for myself, as well. But it is a prayer that has morphed from ‘make this a sprint’ into an understanding that this is a marathon.

Prayers are meant to be answered in God’s time, not ours. That is a hard pill to swallow while God’s ultimate medicine is in transit. The patience to wait is a holy gift that must be asked for alongside the petitions of the prayer, itself. I hope to remember to include this part in my daily prayers. Sometimes I do, sometimes I do not. But I always try. I hope you know that it is difficult for most people out there, right now. They, too, are waiting for something to happen, for God to answer their prayers. My hope for you is the same one I hold for myself—that we can be patient and hold courage during the periods of the unknown.

Try to be faithful in waiting. I know it isn’t easy, but the best things in life never are. What is easy? Asking for grace to calm our hearts and minds so that our strength remains and our faith is fortified. Blessings to all who watch, or weep, or wait. Especially those who wait, today.

Faithfully,

Fr. Sean+