Waiting

Recently my family was blessed with the opportunity to wait a what seemed like forever for the birth of my nephew James. My poor sister-in-law was 15 days past her due date. The baby was fully grown and had been close to entering the world when some complications occurred and his progress digressed. After waiting and waiting our family finally hear good news...

She went into the hospital to get checked and the decision was made to admit her and get things going. We were told that baby would be born by tomorrow morning. When the morning came we all gathered together and went to the hospital by 8:30 am. When we arrived they told us that James would be there in about 30 minutes. Then they said in an hour. Only one more hour they would say. Again, and again, for the next nine hours we waited and waited. Finally, after a c section our newest addition arrived in the family.

Perhaps it was because of the season, but I began to think about the long awaited birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Years ago the world waited. They looked for signs that the Christ child had been born. They all anticipated it greatly, and then finally when no one expected it the Savior entered the world in his own humble way. These two events led me contemplate the lessons to be learned from waiting. 

 First, I learned that we can sacrifice our own comforts for that of others. This lesson came as my 92 year old grandmother sat in a hard chair for 9 hours in a hospital waiting room. She stayed so that the proud parents would know that their family was waiting for them. It was uncomfortable and she was very sore and tired, but the number one thought was how the baby was doing, and how his momma would come out of it.

Next, I learned that often while we wait for the important things we want in life we wait with many others who are cheering us on. My sister-in-law certainly did a lot more intense waiting then the rest of us as she awaited the birth of her baby, but we were all anxious and excited for the arrival of that precious wee one too. There was a private fan club in the waiting room that day. Many prayers were offered on behalf of baby and momma from people who weren't even anywhere near the hospital. Many friends and family members inquired to see how the wait was coming and if the precious cargo had arrived. When Christ was born he had three wise men who came to see. He had angels who were waiting to sing the heavenly chorus. He had both a Heavenly Father and an earthly family who were cheering him on! So do we! We don't wait alone in life. We wait with others who love us tons!

Third, the Lord's timing is perfect! While we were all awaiting James's arrival there were many days that we wanted him to come right then in that exact moment. There were times that would have been what we considered the most convenient. However,the Lord waited until all of our family could be gathered for the holidays. The Lord waited until Sarah could be in the hospital with the care of good doctors who could take care of complications that we had not foreseen. The Lord also saw fit for James to come exactly one week from when his grandparents needed to move to a new city to start a new job. All of these things added together are no coincidence! The same was true of the birth of our Savior. He came to exactly the right parents (Mary and Joseph) who could protect him. He came when it wasn't necessarily convenient according to the ways of men, but when he would grow up with his cousin John the Baptist. He was born when many were about to quit looking for the sign. The Lord's timing is exactly what is best!

Finally, I learned that good things really do come to those who wait. It may have taken an extra 15 weeks, and 29 hours of labor, but in the end we were blessed with my beautiful new nephew James Alan Dewey! Such an adorable baby! I'm so proud to be his auntie! He is evidence to me that the Lord does want to give us His most amazing blessings. The Savior is clearly even stronger evidence of that love and ability to bless! God allowed his Son to come to earth and be born in a lowly stable, to live His life as an example to each of us, to die for our sins, and to live again so that we could all over come death! Just like those who waited before, we just need to wait for the right time and place for those gifts to be received.