April 15, 2007
Focus: Time Spent Waiting
Dear Friend,
It could be argued that life is more about the time we spend waiting for something to happen than it is about something happening. What that boils down to is that the big events in our lives are preceded by many days and nights of dreaming, planning, organizing, and waiting. Yet it is the times of waiting in between the big events that actually constitute the majority of our lives. These “in-between times” are anything, but uneventful. In fact, they are rich with possibility and filled with opportunities for reflection and preparation, especially during these glorious seven weeks of Easter. Like a pregnant couple awaiting the birth of her child, we have a finite period of time in which to prepare internally and externally for the upcoming event that will define a new chapter in our lives.
When we find ourselves in an “in-between time,” we often can't help but feel impatient for the impending event. We just want to get to the future and have the new baby, the new job, the vacation, or a renewed, refreshed, or deepened connection with God. And yet, there is a reason a pregnancy takes nine months to fulfill itself. Nature provides the expectant parents with this time so that they can prepare the nest. This preparation plays out on many levels. Spatially, a space must be created in the home and resources must be set aside for the baby's future. Psychologically, a shift must occur in which the psyches of both parents agree to be responsible for a new life in the world. Emotionally, the heart must open wider to embrace and fulfill a new love.
Whenever you find yourself in such a time of waiting, you might want to spend time exploring your emotional, spiritual, psychological, and material readiness for the upcoming event or you may simply bask in the joy that is the waiting.
I’ll be on Easter Break next week enjoying time with friends and doing lots of reading. My next letter will be on Thursday, April 26, 2007.
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
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