Enlarged In The Waiting

These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting... The longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.
Romans 8:23-25, The Message


As I read this breathtaking phrase from Romans I could not help repeating to myself over and over again, the words "Enlarged in the waiting... ENLARGED IN THE WAITING". What a beautiful word-picture Paul paints as he likens the hope and joy of an erstwhile barren woman expecting her firstborn child with our experience as we wait for our fulfillment in Christ. Just think of it, not a moment passes when the thought of the life growing within her is far from this woman's mind. All her actions, everything she does, is in one way or the other directed towards tending and caring for the unborn gift. The things she eats, the way she sleeps, everything in her life takes on a whole new direction for a definite period of nine months.
 
Does waiting for this child distress her? Not necessarily. Because she knows that time must run it's course if her joy is to be complete. A little too early and she knows the only result may be grief in the end. So everyday that passes, every hour that goes by, she is expectant, knowing that she is getting bigger and bigger, unto a perfect gift. She is enlarged in the waiting.
 
Same with us. Our painful experiences may be likened to early-morning sickness. Our desire for God would be just like the cravings of a primigravida. But waiting does not diminish us. Not at all. It HELPS us. Every experience of God brings us closer to the perfect person He wants us to be. He is coming for a Church without spot and blemish and time and circumstance must run their course so that we can be presented mature before Him in the end.
 
We are enlarged in the waiting. And while we wait, like a responsible mother, we must care for ourselves, watching what we ingest; careful, so to speak, with our bodies, as we nurture this eternal life growing, even enlarging, within us. We have no idea how it will look, anymore than a mother knows the likeness of the child within her, but that does not diminish us one bit. We know there will be joy in the end. It's the only possible outcome.
 
With love, Doosuur