Waiting --the way one occupies...
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Waiting --the way one occupies one's time until an expected event occurs. Waiting --in the doctor's office; for a train; for a spouse preparing for an evening out; at the altar; for the rain to stop; for the first pictures from a space telescope; for the pain to let up; for snow on the mountains; grandmother's flight to arrive at the airport; for son's flight; for the sermon to be done; for word of an unexpected death; ... an unexpected birth; for the return of Christ.
How do you occupy the time? Reading; pacing; smoking; watching television; panicked; contemplatively; mixing cocktails; sleeping; praying; playing games; fidgeting; conversing; eating; helping another. The event for which we wait may suggest what we do while we wait. A school of psychology suggests there are six ways people structure time: activities, rituals, pastimes, withdrawal, games (as in psychological power plays) and intimacy.
While any one of the six may have its place in life, people tend to use the first five for the purpose of avoiding the sixth, intimacy ... the "I-Thou" relationship. The way we spend our time waiting for the advent of Christ may describe our degree of comfort with the thought of Christ drawing close to us.
--Bond
How do you occupy the time? Reading; pacing; smoking; watching television; panicked; contemplatively; mixing cocktails; sleeping; praying; playing games; fidgeting; conversing; eating; helping another. The event for which we wait may suggest what we do while we wait. A school of psychology suggests there are six ways people structure time: activities, rituals, pastimes, withdrawal, games (as in psychological power plays) and intimacy.
While any one of the six may have its place in life, people tend to use the first five for the purpose of avoiding the sixth, intimacy ... the "I-Thou" relationship. The way we spend our time waiting for the advent of Christ may describe our degree of comfort with the thought of Christ drawing close to us.
--Bond
