This wise and beautiful book draws on the experience of unchosen waiting - in sickness, in old age, and in the struggles and frustrations of everyday life - to explore the challenges of waiting and the skills it demands. A lifeline for anyone who finds themselves in a time of waiting, chosen or unchosen, or accompanying others through such times, it shows how the paradoxical gifts of patience point to the God who kindly waits for us. Beginning with an introduction exploring practices for spiritual formation as we wait, it explores four vivid metaphors for life's waiting times: - Wilderness - the practices of surrender and struggle; the gift of sustenance - Winter - the practices of resilience and rootedness; the gift of renewal - Winepress - the practices of constancy and compassion; the gift of consolation - Womb - the practices of nurture and noticing; the gift of newness and naming A book of grace, depth and beauty, destined to become a modern spiritual classic.