What are you waiting for?

The floor is still swaying gently beneath me. I’m back on solid ground after a week-long cruise from Quebec to Boston. But the floor is still swaying.

 

Home base for the week—the Zaandam (all photos: Marlys)

Before leaving on the cruise, I read a book by Annie F. Downs entitled, Looking for Lovely.

The take-away for me was this: While we’re waiting for the things we envision and hope for and work toward, perhaps we could look for the lovely.

There were so many charming sights along the Saint Lawrence waterway, in the port towns of Nova Scotia, and at the Atlantic sea coast ports.

And equal beauty onboard ship: beautifully-presented food. Well-played live music. Fellow adventurers from Australia. Canada. Scotland. Ireland. Michigan. Nebraska. Washington State.

And these lovely ladies from England — Dorothy and Linda — my “Onboard for a Cause” 5K cancer walk buddies.

 

Dorothy and Linda from then UK

In Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island: quaint shops and restaurants and tea houses. Bricked sidewalks. Gaslit street lamps. And this lovely church.

 

St. Dunstan’s Basilica

On the wharf in Sydney: a fun-shade-of-green bike leaning against a sunny shack.

 

Shades of green and sunshine

In Halifax: a citadel overlooking the harbor where cute guys in red plaid kilts did the changing-of-the-guard thing. Blooms bordering a bandstand. And this blue heron onboard a toy cruise ship.

 

Bon voyage!

In Bar Harbor, Maine: stately vacation homes lining the water’s edge. Trees shedding their autumn color. Sailboats skimming the sparkling bay. All of it lovely.

I browsed the village bookstore and took a stroll along the Shore Path after a piled-high lobster roll and ice cream cone for lunch. (You know what they say: “When in Maine … “)

 

Bar Harbor, Maine, Shore Path

 

The charm continued in Boston — this old-meets-modern town — as depicted by Trinity Church reflected in the 200 Clarendon Street building.

 

Trinity Church in reflection

So much lovely on the weeklong Quebec-to-Boston adventure.

This thought from an author unknown:

The worst part of life is waiting. The best part of life is having something worth waiting for.

Waiting doesn’t come easily for me. Because I usually want what I want. When I want it.

If you ask me what I’m waiting and hoping for, I’d probably say a home of my own, a repurposed place—think: barn converted into a rustic, warm and welcoming open-beamed home that would carry the message of hope and new purpose for guests.

I’m waiting for a book to be published that outlines how God is in the business of scooping up the shatters of our broken dreams and fashioning them into something new and repurposeful.

I’m waiting.

And I’m looking for lovely in the wait.

What are you waiting for? What lovely things are in your path?

This thought from Psalm 37:

Trust in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

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8 Comments

  1. Nora

    I took the same cruise to Quebec and like you I loved every minute of it. Now I am waiting for our cruise to the Mediterranean in less than three weeks. However the waiting is part of the joy of the trip. So many things to prepare and total excitement of going somewhere new. When I’m not waiting for a cruise I make each day about today, this moment and how it feels. Today, this very moment I am thinking about how good and safe I am feeling. Later in the day I’ll be out with a granddaughter that just moved to town and in those moments I will think only about her. I want her to know I love her and that she is precious. It will be a full day of thoughts and emotions and I plan to wrap my head all around it. That’s what I’m looking forward Marlys. Love, Nora

  2. Tina Hohman

    What a wonderful trip Marlys! I’ve wanted to do that area! My niece and her family live in Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia and it looks amazing!! ❤️ As for looking for the lovely, so true! I’m attempting to do that here in the mundane, daily grind! ? Glad you’re having such wonderful adventures!! ?

  3. Grace Lawson

    Thanks, Marlys, for this story !! God’s creation is indeed wonderful and so is your writing !! God bless you !! Love and Prayers, Grace

  4. Debbie Smith

    Sounds lovely. I too find myself impatient for my desire. This reminded me that I should wait on the Lord. His timing is perfect. So glad you were able to see all those lovely sights.

    • Well said, Debbie: ” … I should wait on the Lord. His timing is perfect …” Why is it we usually think our timing is perfect?! Smile.

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