the sixth gift...

The sixth gift of waiting is humility. 

Humility leads us to the grace of God.
Humility leads us to love rather than achievement.
Humility leads us to honor others.
Humility leads us to live without judgment.
Humility leads us to honest assessment.

"Sometimes we wait because we can't do anything else.  We recognize that we are powerless.  That powerlessness can be a spiritual opening. In our vulnerability, we realize that forces and powers far greater than ourselves have taken over. It is during those times of waiting that we learn humility." (pg 73)

"We all feel powerless over something in our lives-- maybe especially waiting. Our first instinct may be to rail against the powerlessness, to try to do something about it.  Powerlessness is not something we welcome, and we might do everything we can to avoid it.  But when we can let the powerlessness of waiting lead us to humility, to admitting that we are not in charge, we can move into a place where we can lean on God. And when we lean on God, we receive grace-- grace that changes everything.  God's grace provides relief and restoration and invites us to embrace outcomes we would never have believed possible." (pg 75)

"There may be no more provoking experience than being told, "Wait."  It stops any action we might take. We may feel powerless, unprotected.  Someone else holds all the cards. Un the intervening moments- or days or weeks or years- waiting beckons us to come to the well of humility, to drink deeply.  Those clarifying waters give us a chance to see ourselves clearly: to see both our flaws and our gifts, to accept both our failings and our goodness.  Even the waiting itself becomes a lens through which we can assess ourselves honestly.  The next time you find yourself waiting, consider your response.  How much do you assert yourself to get things done, to end the waiting? Acknowledge your confidence, your decisiveness.  How much do you seek advice and support? Acknowledge your ability to listen and discern.  Then give thanks, in humility, that you are a child of God born to make manifest the glory of God."  (pg 80-81)