W-A-I-T

Another cold day and I wait. I wait for a tree to fall, for my husband to come back from the other end of the valley, for the amaryllis to bloom near the window.

The greenery of the amaryllis is healthy, and I see a life bud. Tender and long-awaited in the winter.

I’m writing this on January 6, Ephiphany, the day to say, Ah-ha! Maybe the wise men said such words after traveling and finding Baby Jesus.

I’ve been working on a manuscript for months. My most recent goal was to get it to the editor by Epiphany. (Last night, I hit the Send button on my computer.)

I have to have goals and deadlines or it won’t happen.

A general goal of mine: I want to bless others with what I have learned during my time on earth. If I can do this, I become joy to those ready to hear.

My orderly way of doing this: I write blogs and poetry and publish them. But I once knew a woman who just blessed people verbally, randomly. She’d wait for the right time. Then she’d say, You are blessed, May you be blessed, Go and bless....

Sensitive people, I’ve found, wait and watch for the best time, then pass on a blessing. They wait so they’ll be heard and the blessing might be received.

Nothing wrong with waiting. A human condition.

We wait and bless on a daily basis. I grin a silly grin, remembering how I waited on a granddaughter to slow down in the kitchen. When I reached for her, we hugged and I blessed her verbally.

I can wash dishes and bless others. You can too.

Jesus turned water into wine. He blessed others and performed miracles. It was His thing. He put them together. Definitely a servant to everyone. He gave blessings and He was the blessing.

I figure the disciples spent lots of time waiting and wondering, and the Blessing was right there in front of them.

If you give your typing, painting, cooking, snow-plowing unto God, no matter how mundane the job, you can become a living blessing.

Over Christmas break, I somehow managed to have people for 10 days, fight a sinus infection, bake 20 loaves of bread, and laugh a lot. I was blessed by others and I was a blessing. Joy rained down on us.

When you are aware of waiting, of blessing, of being the blessing, something happens every time.

I encourage you to not wait until your bones are rested or the laundry is done. Pray and wait, but bless others as you live your life. Let laundry and dishes and stroking the dog become your song.

I wait for the amaryllis to bloom, but my life is not on hold. I am singing my song with a manuscript, cooking, taking down Christmas decorations.

Serve Christ and live your life. They can go together. Contentment, real happiness, will come.

Mother Teresa said, “The work we do is only our love for Jesus in action.”

Look for Jesus. He is there in the midst of your work and your life. Maybe ask God to open your eyes if you cannot see Him on your own, then BELIEVE your eyes will be opened.

Maybe you feel alone, but you are never alone.

Blessings,

Pat Durmon

(patdurmon@gmail.com)

P.S. – Thank you for blessing me with your Likes, Comments, Shares

Photo of amaryllis, prior to blooming, by Pat Durmon, at her home in Norfork, Arkansas, January 4, 2018.