Waiting Expectantly

A pair of mourning doves recently built their nest in a fern hanging just outside my office window. In the past two weeks, I have been daily watching mama dove as she sits peacefully on her little eggs—waiting, simply waiting. Once in a while, papa dove comes by and relieves her, but when she returns, she takes her place just sitting there so very quietly, hour after hour.

Occasionally, strong winds come whirling through and I watch as my fern plant swings violently to and fro— but mama dove simply sinks down deeper into her nest, and continues waiting expectantly for the promise her eggs contain to be fulfilled.

In my last blog, I talked to you about taking time to quietly listen after you ask the Lord something. Sounds so easy, doesn’t it? But most of us find it almost impossible to do.

Listen to how the Psalmist withdrew from the stressors of his life. He wrote,

Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold (Psalm 46:8-11).

“Cease striving” comes from the Hebrew imperative verb meaning “sink down, let drop, relax,” just like mama dove instinctively knows what to do.

Last evening with our friends, we talked about the promise of rest and how few of us ever find it.

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9).

Caught up in proving something to someone, a frenetic grind to overcome difficulties too big for us, or driven by perfection, our nervous systems experience great stress. Hopefully one day we discover that we can trust our wonderful Creator, surrender ourselves into his hands, and relax in his divine presence.

One of our favorite movies is “Terminal” (about an Eastern European man stuck in a New York airport terminal because of a military coup in his country). We enjoy watching how Tom Hanks’ character patiently waits for the day he can leave the airport and fulfill his father’s dream.

The mourning dove is, above all other symbolism, a spiritual messenger of peace, love, and faith.