I want it NOW.

See this girl?

You might know her as Veruca Salt, the kicking, screaming, whining little girl from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.The one who wants the world, the whole world. The one who wants it now.

Actually -- and this may come as a surprise to you -- Veruca is my twin. Or maybe my alter ego, to be more accurate. You see, we both want it now. And while I am past the stamping-my-foot-and-screaming stage (because, after all, I am a little too old for that kind of caper), I still don't like to wait.

I was talking to Lauren and Staish about this yesterday: a few years ago, I would never have described myself as impatient. I probably didn't think of myself as particularly patient, either. I was just on a mellow plane. Que sera sera. But the last couple of years have been revealing to me rather unpleasantly that I don't like waiting at all. It's kind of embarrassing to discover this about oneself, to realise that as soon as I decide I need something or have to do something, I must obtain it or do it immediately.

I have been calling 2009 by many different names. It's been labelled the Year of Correspondence, the [Half] Year of Writing Furiously, the Year of Changes. Now I think it's also the Year of Learning to Wait. As I write, there are about half a million (okay, maybe a dozen) things I am waiting for.

I am waiting to hear back from a prospective employer regarding some freelance writing work. I am waiting to get paid for some work I have already done. I am waiting to find out if I got accepted into the college I applied to. I am waiting for Kevin Rudd to make a neat little donation to my bank account. I am waiting for a story to appear in print.

And that doesn't even take into consideration the big things, the people things, the faith things -- like waiting to meet a special man. Or waiting to see my niece and nephew again. Waiting for God to bring me a fresh revelation of His character. Hey, I'm even waiting for Easter Monday to arrive so that I can go buy cheap Easter candy.

There is so much to wait for.

I don't know what all this waiting is meant to cultivate. Patience, sure, but patience for what, exactly -- more waiting? Eep.

That's probably true, though. I don't think we ever reach a point in our life when we're able to say we're not waiting for anything. The waiting never stops. It has been said that loneliness is the human condition. Well, maybe it's just one of them. Maybe waiting is the human condition, too. So if it's going to continue, it's in our best interests -- nay, it's to His glory -- if we learn to wait well.

Help me, God, to be a faithful waiter.

For God alone, oh my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.

--Psalm 62:5,6,8.