The Portal October 2018 | Page 23

THE
P RTAL
October 2018
Page 23
Worth waiting for...
Julia Beacroft
Wait for the Lord.
Wait for the Lord, his day is near.
Wait for the Lord: keep watch, take heart.
W
e now move into the beautiful autumnal month of October with all its accompanying spells of
sunshine, showers and mists. The month of October has always been a particular favourite of mine –
and not just for the weather patterns either.
Both my mother and my eldest son have their
birthdays during this month and there is exactly
fifty years and one day difference in their ages. How
lovely, you might say, but when I gave birth, my Mum
was quite indignant about the date! The story goes
something like this…
we can build our relationship with Jesus Christ and
spend the vital time with him, which we all need.
Furthermore, we have been assured that the Lord will
come again to this world in all his glory. We may have
been waiting for this to happen for over two thousand
years but we can still be assured that this will be the
Indignant
case. And so, in recognition of this ‘waiting’ we must
When I’d had my first scan during my pregnancy, we also keep our own lives in good order as we never
were all thrilled to find out that my due date of delivery know when this event will occur. In the words of the
was the same as my Mum’s birthday – October 11 th . beautiful Taizé chant, we must ‘keep watch and take
However, nature has a way of taking control in these heart’.
matters and my beloved first-born arrived a day early
on the 10 th of the month.
And so in this lovely autumnal month of October,
may we wait for the Lord and wait upon the Lord who
When the besotted grandparents arrived at the is always with us no matter what the date.
hospital to see their first grandchild, my mother
Copyright © 2018 Julia Beacroft
turned to me and said indignantly: “Well, you could
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have waited another day!” This has become a family
joke to this day and one which my grown-up son often
Julia Beacroft is an author,
laughs about with his grandmother.
All of us, at some time or another find that we have
to wait for things and this can often be frustrating and
sometimes stressful in varying degrees. In fact, in a
world where we all tend to demand things instantly,
it is surprising how much time we still spend awaiting
decisions, actions, advice, news and a whole host of
other factors.
Take Heart
Yet even in this modern world there is another aspect
of our ‘waiting’ which we understand is vital to our
spiritual well-being and contentment. The Lord waits
for us to spend time with him. And in this waiting we
know that his invitation is an open one and all we have
to do is to take advantage of it.
Prayer, reflection and contemplation and being in
his presence at Holy Mass are simple means to which
editor, workshop leader and presenter
in Catholic faith formation.
Her book ‘Sanctifying the Spirit’ 
is available to buy from AMAZON,
www.waterstones.com or Book Depository
Please visit www.sanciobooks.com
for more information.
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‘
A great memory does
not make a mind,
any more than a
dictionary is a piece
of literature.
’