I'm not very good at waiting. I don't like to wait in line at the supermarket. I don't like to wait at the gas station for gasoline. I don't like to wait long for food at a restaurant. I don't like to wait for my children to do what they are told. I am impatient in the little things that don't really matter very much.

I am also impatient in the big things that matter a lot. In other words, I also don't like to wait for God.

I don't like waiting to get well when I am sick. I don't like waiting for a loved one to get healthy when he or she is sick. I don't like waiting for a friend when I am lonely. I don't like waiting to feel good about myself when I am insecure. I don't like waiting for money when I am worried about finances. I don't like waiting for reconciliation when a relationship is strained or broken.

Haste makes waste, we're told. It certainly can be true for me. When I was unemployed, I took the first job I was offered, only to find myself unemployed again quite quickly. I was acting out of fear, giving in to my insecurity and impatience.

I have made commitments I shouldn't have made, for the same reason. I was afraid if I waited I wouldn't get what I wanted, so instead I accepted what I did not want. Waste is not what anyone wants.

In today's Gospel reading Jesus tells his followers to wait: "Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you," he tells them. "But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."

My first question if I were one of the disciples would be, "How will we know when we are 'clothed with power from on high?'" I mean, it is one thing to be told to wait. It is quite another thing to be told to wait for some supernatural event to take place.

Waiting for God is not easy. It requires patience, something in short supply in our era of instant gratification. Waiting for "power on high" requires that we act only when we are sure that the saving power of God is acting upon us. This suggests that we should think, pray and listen before we make any major decision or commitment.

Jesus says this as he departs from the disciples for the final time. He is teaching them how to relate to him when they cannot see him in person. We need the same lesson. How do we wait for someone we cannot see? How do we know when we are moved by the power of God rather than simply acting on our own impulses?

We will need to wait. We will also need to learn to discern when we are acting in concert with the power of God and when we are simply exerting our own will power to force a solution to the problems in our lives. We can start with prayer - asking for what we want and need, and listening and looking for a response.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.