I was with my family and tour group members last night for at least three whole hours. As I've mentioned, I'm holidaying in Finland, so it's only natural to await the appearance of the Northern Lights or what is officially known as Aurora. 

As I sat in the viewing gallery waiting, one thing came to mind: I've spent a large part of my life just waiting for things.

From simple things like waiting for the bus and waiting for a friend's arrival to things like waiting to grow up or sometimes even waiting for things that some may deem impossible, say a wish made upon a wishing star - life seems to be simply waiting.

And many things just like the Northern Lights, are unpredictable.

Their occurrences may be unknown, unseen, unrecognized. 

And yet we still wait.

I pondered for a long while over this. Why would we keep waiting when we are never sure of the outcome? Why would we not give up even when we do know that the chances are so slim? Why would we keep believing in waiting?

It hit me then.

Hope.

This simple complexity is the flame that keeps us going, even through the most dismal times.

I was once told, when you don't believe in yourself, believe in God. I may not be a Christian and many others out there may not be as well. But I do treasure what I was told a lot. Because I do believe that this can give hope in our darkest times.

I prayed while waiting for the Northern Lights, as trivial as it may seem. But I didn't want everyone to leave disappointed, having raised their hopes of seeing such a phenomenon.

We saw it in the end, past midnight. And I thank God for listening to our prayers.

So to anyone who's lost hope in waiting, or rather in anything in life, I'd like to share something my best friend shared with me: 

Don't worry about anything, instead pray about evrything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:6-7