The Saturday of Waiting

After a whole year of waiting, I was finally able to spend some time with all our grandkids, last week. And the funny thing is that all three of the older ones remember promises I made over a year ago. “You promised to take us to see all the jeeps, Gaga. We’re waiting.” “You promised the four of us a sleepover. We’re waiting.” And waiting seems to be the word of the season!  All of us are waiting for the pandemic to be over; waiting for the vaccine; waiting to be able to move around freely; waiting for life to get back to some semblance of normalcy. But, pandemic or no pandemic, waiting is a huge part of life… whether we’re 5, 45 or 85!

I was thinking about this the other day. So much of waiting! Our focus of Lent is always on Good Friday, which reminds us of the huge price that was paid for our sins, and Easter which reminds us of the victorious miracle of resurrection. But between the pain of the cross and the joyous resurrection day, there is a day we often overlook. The Saturday of waiting. A pain-filled day. A day of deathly quiet. The crazy mob of the previous day, screaming for blood, had disappeared. It was a day of hopelessness. A day when God was silent.

We all go through such Saturdays… that season of waiting for answered prayers, don’t we? Sometimes it’s just a short time of waiting, and that doesn’t seem too bad. But when we receive no answers for months on end, and the pain is real, the waiting becomes unbearable!

Recently, some very personal prayers have come my way… and the waiting truly has been hard. In the Gospel of Luke we read that when Jesus was on the cross, the rulers sneered, He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One. And in the midst of my waiting, I too hear the ruler of this world and the enemy of my soul, sneering, “that’s a whole lot of waiting, Ruth. Will your God really heal/provide/deliver…?” And I feel overwhelmed!

As I study the gospels, I learn that despite their fears of the crazed crowds, the local rulers, and the Roman soldiers, Jesus’ mother and the women who loved Him, waited near the cross and then near his tomb. They couldn’t bear to let go of the one they loved, and their faith was honored by God. They were the first ones to receive the miraculous news of the resurrected Christ! And in those simple women, I see the secret to my miracles, friends. You see, the women kept waiting because they loved Him.

And so, while I wait in the silence of my Saturday, and cry and pray for a beloved child who lost a precious baby mid-pregnancy, and for her dreams of a large family; for the healing of a dear sister in Christ from cancer; for the healing of a drifting marriage; a child in great need; a struggling fledgling business; my healing… I will wait on my knees and hold on to the One I love, until I receive my miracles!

As we celebrate the resurrected Christ this Easter, let me encourage all the “waiting” ones to hold on. Just wait in His presence, because you love Him. His promises never fail! And the Bible says, “And hope does not disappoint…” (Romans 5:5a) Our Sunday of miracles is on the way!