Scripture
Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles.
Isaiah 40:31
NRSV
Spiritual Focus
“A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us.” Henri J. M. Nouwen
Devotion
Every parent and teacher knows how hard it is to wait for a child to perform some task. It is so tempting to intervene, to do it for them. But in order to learn, children must be given a chance to follow through on their own. The struggle to wait patiently reveals something about our human nature. We are regularly pressed by society to “get ’ur done,” and under this pressure we may choose a hasty response, deceiving ourselves into the assumption that this is better than none at all. Not surprisingly, those knee-jerk responses often lack wisdom, and we regret having made them. The truth is that when we are patient—at times it may seem excruciatingly so—we demonstrate love, trust, and an investment in what we are waiting for.
In this season of waiting we are invited to be countercultural. Rather than rushing in to a decision or conclusion, we are invited to wait for the Spirit of the Lord to lead us. Elizabeth waited in hope for many years for the birth of her son, John the Baptist. For a nine-month period that may have seemed equally as long, Mary waited in peace, pondering her seemingly bizarre circumstances after the angel had informed her that she would bear a child and name him Jesus. And Jesus waited throughout his three-year ministry for humanity to “catch up” with his message of love.
The faith practice of waiting is intrinsically connected to our ability to trust God. The yoga practice of waiting is similar: we are called to wait in a breath or pose, to trust our bodies to give us information on how, or if, we are to proceed or back off. These cues from our mind/body connection keep us safe and teach us how to accurately perceive both our limitations and our areas of strength. Waiting patiently while trusting God leads us into a mature experience of who we are as physical, emotional, and spiritual beings. Time and time again we find that when we patiently wait the Lord renews our strength, enabling us to rise up as though on the wings of eagles.
Breath Prayer
Inhale I Exhale Am Waiting
Focus Pose: Eagle Pose, garudasana, challenges our patience—with our balance, with our flexibility, with our strength, and with ourselves. This week, approach Eagle Pose with patience; take it in steps and investigate the many alternative positions for arms and legs progressively, starting with the simplest variations and avoiding any position that causes joint pain. Find your own version of Eagle: one that allows you to wait patiently in the pose, deepen your breath, and soar.
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