Waiting to Believe

And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself.

Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed… John 20:5-8

Have you ever been waiting on a promise and had the thought, “Did I make this whole thing up or is it really going to happen?”

I’ve read this scripture over and over throughout the years and always wondered why the Beloved Disciple stopped at the tomb but did not go in. He was the Beloved One and even stopped to take a peek. But, why not enter?

As we grow through life, our experiences have a way of becoming even better teachers than the books we read and testimonies we encounter from others. Once we’ve lived the gospel, it becomes all the more real to us and less of a dream.

It’s here in the experience of waiting for something really good to happen, the manifestation of a long awaited promise that I can finally understand the Beloved One’s response.

Like a Mother in reception of a long awaited birth, or a Father at the realization that he’s left a good legacy in his children, and the lovers who have called to each other over time and seasons awaiting their eternal union, we are often in awe of the manifestation of the expectation. When at once our joy is complete and our hopes fulfilled it can come as quite a shock. Like the Beloved One, we might hold back at the entrance, not for lack of faith but for want of Wonder. Wondering at the miraculous site of it all. Wondering if it is truly real. Peaking in from around the corner to steal a glance and waiting for another to confirm what we have hoped.

In this season of expectation and waiting, let us be mindful that what we wait for is real. Let us then prepare ourselves not only for His coming but the full manifestation of all Christ’s promises.

Let us be overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living and like the Beloved One, turn and enter in that we too may see and believe.

And, like Elizabeth exclaimed to her cousin Mary at the onset of her promise, let us be that affirmation of hope for others who need a reminder of what it’s like to have joy in the waiting.

“Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:45)

Until the Day Dawns and the Shadows Flee,

❤️ Kim

#Waking Eve, #Waking Sleeping Beauty,

It all begins with Wonder. The wonder of it All.