When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.

– John Milton, Sonnet 19

These words are poignant, yet filled with a sweet resignation–the words of one who has tasted the bitterness of disappointment, of frustrated hopes and desires long denied, yet whose eyes are firmly fixed on the Lord, Whose service he faithfully and lovingly executes. A life of service–the kind of service that consists of standing and waiting for a word from the King–is as high and noble a calling as the kind of service that calls others to do His bidding abroad.

How should we then live–those of us who desire to be and to do something God has not called us for? Must these desires, these “talents”, lodge within us useless, though we desire with all our hearts to use them for His glory? Will our Maker rebuke us for wasting the gifts He gave, if He did not also provide the place in which to use them?

Nay, I think not–for God calls each of us to wait on Him and to hope in Him. And then He promises to “work on behalf of those who wait for Him” (Isaiah 64:4). God, for His promised part, is working for us–lining up events and people, removing barriers, shifting and shaking things–He is neither silent nor still. For us, then, waiting does not mean that we are doing nothing; instead perhaps, it means that we invest the talent and keep on patiently working while we wait, like the servant in the Parable of the Talents, who put his talent in the bank instead of using it. It is a quiet yielding, resting, and praying, while God is at work to move His will forward in our lives.

These lovely benches and the roses growing over them struck me with their beauty. Here they stand and wait through the long years–adorned both with splendor and with squalor as the seasons roll–for visitors to sit and rest a while. They serve their function perfectly; life goes on steadily around them and new life springs up and blooms over them. Perhaps, sitting on these benches, someone felt their soul restored. Perhaps, the sight and scent of the gentle beauty and sweet fragrance of this pleasant arbor was enough to turn someone’s heart towards their Maker.

And so, cultivating new skills, crafting and curating beauty, working diligently at the opportunities God has given, living quietly and joyfully, enriching the lives of others, serving in quiet humility–this is a worthy waiting–a “standing” kind of waiting. The words of this hymn perfectly capture my thoughts, my prayer:

Father, I know that all my life is portioned out for me,
And the changes that are sure to come I do not fear to see;
But I ask Thee for a present mind intent on pleasing Thee.

I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, through constant watching wise,
To meet the glad with joyful smiles, and to wipe the weeping eyes;
And a heart at leisure from itself, to soothe and sympathize.

I would not have the restless will that hurries to and fro,
Seeking for some great thing to do or secret thing to know;
I would be treated as a child, and guided where I go.

Wherever in the world I am, in whatso’er estate,
I have a fellowship with hearts to keep and cultivate;
And a work of lowly love to do for the Lord on whom I wait.

So I ask Thee for the daily strength, to none that ask denied,
And a mind to blend with outward life while keeping at Thy side;
Content to fill a little space, if Thou be glorified.

And if some things I do not ask in my cup of blessing be,
I would have my spirit filled the more with grateful love to Thee,
More careful, not to serve Thee much, but to please Thee perfectly.

There are briers besetting every path that call for patient care;
There is a cross in every lot, and an earnest need for prayer;
But a lowly heart that leans on Thee is happy anywhere.

In a service which Thy will appoints there are no bonds for me;
My secret heart is taught the truth that makes Thy children free
A life of self-renouncing love is one of liberty.

– Anna Laetitia Waring

All the images are my own; my thoughts are both inspired and echoed by the quotes, and by some of Joni Eareckson Tada’s devotionals.