Waiting Prayers

I'm waiting... Any moment now the phone call will come, and I'll hop in the car and drive to Logan to pick up some weary travellers. Six people from Beit Jala, Palestine, one adult and five teenagers, will be visiting our fair state, and my family and I will be part of the hosting team. But their travels have been rocky, marked by long searches, fingerprintings, and delays. They missed their connecting flight from JFK to Logan, so we hosts need to wait, probably into the late hours of the evening or into tomorrow.

When my husband and I spent five weeks in Israel/Palestine 2 years ago, we learned well that waiting is a painful part of everyday life for Palestinians. Waiting at check-points, not knowing whether you'll get through at all or if it will take hours, is a given. It was hard to witness this reality. I once saw three women going through the pedestrian check-point from Bethlehem into Jerusalem, on their way to a wedding. Two were allowed to go through, one was told she could not. All that time she had waited, and there was to be no wedding joy for her on the other end.

I'm waiting... and I'm worrying... and I'm praying. Will you pray with me?

O Holy Spirit, breathe your peace into my friends as they travel. Hold in your strong hand Abdallah, Raja, Andre, Mokarram, Melad, and John, that they will know your presence. Refresh them with delightful experiences in our country. Help us to know how we can best show them your welcoming care and how we can hear your voice through them as well. Teach us all to wait, O Lord, freed of anxiety, full of you.

Thank you. I'll go back to my waiting now. And I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes. Jesus' peace be yours in whatever kind of waiting you may find yourself in.

~Kari