The Waiting Writer
by Sandy
Layne
Be patient, then,
brothers…see how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and
how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains…
James
5:7 (NIV)
Waiting
We all know
how it feels, right? Waiting. We have been waiting for things our whole
lives. Waiting for our first tooth to
fall out so the Tooth Fairy would leave us a quarter. Waiting for Christmas and presents under a
tree. Waiting for each and every
birthday of our childhood so we can finally have the Ultimate Barbie Dreamhouse
or Ultimate Action Figure Ensemble of the Universe!
We all know
how it feels. You’d think that it would
get easier as you got older though!
I’m still
not very good at waiting.
Time is Relative
I’ve sent a
manuscript submission to a major Christian publisher. I know they’re busy and I know that I truly
have not been waiting all that long in comparison to many folks, but still, I
find myself checking the calendar.
“When did I
send that out? "Oh, yeah. End of August. Right.”
Really,
early October isn’t all that long to wait to hear from a publisher! You may have had marathons of waiting to hear
from a publisher. For me, the longest
lag in response time has been twelve weeks.
One would
think I’d have been accepted after such a wait, but no!
I am sure the
Lord was trying to tell me something.
Actually
even twelve weeks isn’t too bad. I have
read horror stories of folks who have waited years – yes, years –
to hear back from a publisher.
So five
weeks isn’t so long at all, right?
Filling Time
It’s not as
if I don’t have plenty to keep me occupied!
I don’t have to leave my own living room to find ways to fill the
time.
Shame on
me, I think to
myself. Filling time. I need an
attitude adjustment, right? What I do is
a privilege! I am wife to a hard-working,
tolerant man who understands that I type half the night when insomnia grips me
by the eyeballs. I am mother to Cyclone
and Scooter, who make me appreciate the wonder of day-to-day life. All my guys are blessings to me.
Still, here
I sit, peeking at my calendar and saying, All right, it’s five weeks
today. Only five weeks...
I may have
five more weeks to fill before I find out what the publisher says!
Tapping Fingers
I have
other books to keep my brain active. I
have writers’ groups that count on my contribution and participation. There are manuscripts to read, books to read,
and email to read. Tap, tap, tap go my
fingers. Tapping away at all my areas of
interest. Tapping away the minutes, hours, days as I wait.
There are
domestic concerns, too! Small toes
tapping on the floor as Scooter starts toddling about. Eight-year-old hands tapping on the walls and
refrigerator door as Cyclone whirls through the house, his imagination giving
jet-propulsion to his whole body. Remote
control clickers tapping as my husband and I watch the National League
playoffs. (We’re Diamondbacks fans!)
Tapping
fingers. Drumming fingers. Waiting
fingers…
“Patience is a virtue…”
My mother
informed me last week she and my dad were praying for me. Well, they’re wonderful, godly parental
units! She specifically said they prayed
for me to have patience…
I guess the
Lord is answering my parents’ prayer. I’m waiting, tapping my fingers, and
working away.
Patience is
a virtue. I guess I still need to work
on this one! Copyright 2002 Sandy Layne
Look for Sandy's regular Kids-n-Keys column at:
http://www.writetoinspire.com
Also, look to Sandy Layne for your editing needs:
http://www.alookediting.com
