Waiting. Patiently. Not a strong suit for many of us. Our pursuits of efficiency in completing our daily tasks and the busyness of our lives have made waiting into public enemy No. 1.

When we go to get our oil changed and it takes 25 minutes for them to finish the job, the passing of those 25 minutes has no effect on us whatsoever. But if we have to wait 20 minutes to pull our car into the service stall we get frustrated. Ah, but they know us, so they put a timer display outside the building to keep us calm!

If we spend half an hour shopping at the grocery store, that’s no problem. But if the checkout line is more than two deep, we wonder who’s running the place and hope that someone will open another lane nearby. And God forbid we should wait when we are hungry! We go out to eat and we hope beyond hope that the “wait staff” really doesn’t take their name too seriously.

Sometimes it gets ugly. You’ve been there when the waiting pushes someone over the top.

A couple of years ago I spent three hours waiting in a plane parked at a departure gate for the repair of a radio. It would have been easier to wait if the captain had not told us that the radio that they needed to fix was for international use (we were on a domestic flight) but that it needed to be fixed per FAA regulations nonetheless. The middle third of the plane played audience to an obnoxious display of incivility as a frustrated passenger called the airline’s customer service line on his cell phone and proceeded to let loose with a tirade that would have made a sailor blush. Let’s face it, we don’t wait well.

One of my favorite bands is U2. They have a song titled “Forty” that is all about waiting.

I waited patiently for the Lord

He inclined and heard my cry

He brought me up out of the pit

Out of the miry clay

How long to sing this song?

How long to sing this song?

How long, how long

How long, how long to sing this song?

I will sing, sing a new song

I will sing, sing a new song

Frustration with waiting is nothing new. This U2 song is taken right out of Psalm 40 in Jewish and Christian scripture. But it is not written in reaction to being pushed to the edge of our convenience tolerance. It is written as people collectively cry out that the only hope that they have is for God to intervene and change the course of their lives. They have done all that they can and they pray that God will intercede on their behalf and give them a new song to sing.

My flight eventually took off and landed in Miami where I connected on my way to Haiti. I was journeying with Feed My Starving Children, a local hunger relief organization. One of our tasks on the trip was to distribute food at a local village. When we arrived we found the residents waiting for us, in a line that was at least 300 people deep. We were told that they had been there for nearly three hours. Their waiting reminded me of that U2 song and their hallowed patience stood in contrast to my own experience of what it means to wait.

Sometimes our waiting bears fruit. Sometimes it causes us to see things differently and to sing a new song. If you speak to pastors, social service providers, school teachers and social workers in Scott County, they will tell you that this economy has more and more people in our community waiting at the brink of despair ala Psalm 40. What will be our song in response? Will we lament about our busy holiday season of scurrying to get through our sacred lists and the lack of time to get everything done? I pray not.

I hope to sing a new song this holiday season. Maybe you will join me? We can sing this new song together! The first verse goes like this: “Slow down and seize the season for what it is.” The second: “Be thankful for our bounty and share it generously in meaningful ways.” The third: “Spend less money and give more of who you are.”

And maybe as a chorus we can change the way we stand in lines. Instead of spending our time on our phones, or looking at our watches, or checking our lists, perhaps we can invest our time in a conversation with the people around us.

Sometimes, while we are waiting, we are invited to join a song that is way bigger than we can imagine. A song that is filled with passion and purpose and harmonies of our connectedness. A song that is hidden deep within all of us longing to be sung. A song that gives us life. A song that gives the world life. A song that brings our waiting to a quiet end.