The Story of Wait

My dear friend, Julia, gave me this beautiful poem, Wait, in March, 2001, following my third successive miscarriage in a span of nine months. Wishing to comfort me in a time of deep despair, she shared a photocopy with me from a version she'd been given years earlier. "The author?" I asked. "Unknown", she said. I hung it on my fridge for months, then tucked it away as my heart began to heal. About six months later, I was once again talking to God about waiting. (I'm very impatient)! I remembered this poem, took it out of hiding, and re-read it. In that moment, I felt certain that I should pursue finding the author and inquire about illustrating and publishing his or her work. As an author and artist myself, I "just knew" this message could minister to so many waiting for God's direction in their life.
- Marianne Richmond

Sometime in the Fall of 2001, our ministry office took a call from a stranger asking to illustrate and publish a poem written by my late husband, Russell. His well-loved poem, Wait, has long circulated on the Internet in that mysterious fashion so common these days - author unknown. Although the petitioner had taken great pains to find the real author of the "anonymous" work, my initial reaction to her request was "No." However, an unseen, restraining hand kept interfering with the delivery of that message. After failing to get even an e-mail addressed correctly, I reached MarianneRichmond by phone.

When I learned her story and reasons for wanting to do the project, my objections began to slip away. When I was privileged to see her work, the objections disappeared in a great wave of joyful expectation. Waiting and struggling to keep faith while time drags on is a rather universal condition that presents a need for encouragement. Whatever your personal circumstances, dear reader, may you discover "the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know the Lord God of Israel who calls you by name" (Isaiah 45:3). And may you find the joy that it is possible to experience when God's reply to you is "Wait."
- Martha Williams Kelfer, Wife of late author, Russell Kelfer

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