How long, O Lord?   Psalm 13:1

Will it never end?

Must the clock move so slowly?

So imperceptibly?

Will the hours and days never pass?

Eighteen years old…

And waiting for high School to end.

Waiting for the next phase of her life to begin.

Watching day by day…

As the clock moves sluggishly through the minutes and the hours…

As the calendar refuses to turn from one day to the next…

How Long, O Lord?

Twenty-nine years old…

Waiting for her pregnancy to end…

“This baby will be born soon, right?”

Counting down the months…

Months that never seem to change…

Waiting ever more eagerly for the trip to the hospital.

And then…

When that trip comes…

Crying out for the end of labor.

How Long, O Lord?

Now…

Sixty-five years old.

The sluggish clock and the recalcitrant calendar return…

Waiting for a forty-year working career to end…

Waiting for the next phase of her life to begin.

To go back to school…

To move in the direction God calls her next…

Will the clock never move?

The calendar never change?

Some days it’s tempting to despair…

To wonder whether she can trust God…

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?  Psalm 13:1

Sometimes she demands an answer, now…

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Psalm 13:3a

We have all been at that place in our lives where we demand answers…

And sometimes God remains silent…

Perhaps waiting for our hearts to remember His faithfulness…

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.  Psalm 13:5-6

So that when we recall the promise of Christ to all believers…

“Behold, I am coming soon…” Revelation 22:12

We can say With faith…

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!  Revelation 22:20