“There’s always a miracle coming. You just have to wait long enough. Some people get discouraged, but you just have to WAIT.” – Madame May-Éliane de Lencquesaing. I can’t make up my mind about this quote. On the one hand it is the polar opposite of what I do, but is there something for me to learn in this call to wait?
We’ve recently enjoyed a bottle of the Glenelly Lady May and when I googled it for some more information, I stumbled upon this quote by the owner, a French lady from Bordeaux, who purchased the Stellenbosch farm at the age of 78. Who starts such a venture in a foreign country at that age? Well, perhaps someone who when she inherited a struggling French wine farm at the age of 53, decided to go to university to study viticulture and became the president of the International Wine & Spirit Competition. (Read more)
I don’t like to wait. I know people sometimes have to wait on me, but then it is only because I’ve over-estimated what I can achieve in the time leading up to my appointment with them. Other than when I watch sport or relax next to my Friday night braai, I rarely sit still. I’m not saying it is a good thing. Perhaps multitasking is in my DNA or perhaps it has just become my normal because there is always so much to do. I can honestly say, though, that a message to wait, is not something I expect in a quote from someone with such life experience and success. I would expect something along the lines of, “you’re never too old”, “go out and get it”, “never stop dreaming”. Calls to action.
But perhaps there is more to her quote than my initial reading of it. Inheriting a farm rather late in her life brought some possibilities that Madame May-Éliane de Lencquesaing didn’t have before. Obviously she didn’t then sit and wait for the farm to look after itself. She jumped into action, actually going back to varsity and became a dynamic figure in the international wine world. Perhaps the waiting doesn’t necessarily say something about our every day, but rather something about the possibilities that might be in our future. “There’s always a miracle coming”, she said.
This type of “waiting” brings courage in times when we become despondent about things not working out despite our best efforts. Sometimes, even though we like to try and control our own lives and fortunes, there might be something positive waiting that we didn’t bargain on. Perhaps it isn’t a wine farm in Bordeaux… but it can be an opportunity, a life lesson, a new adventure, a new relationship. Isn’t that an exciting thought!
I feel like it is our default to expect bad news and who can blame us in today’s world?! But anticipating something positive is more than waiting on a miracle. It doesn’t mean that you are doing nothing, it just means that you believe in opportunity. Gary Player said: “It’s a funny thing, the more I practice, the luckier I get” and that is something I agree with wholeheartedly. You can wait for that opportunity, but use the time to prepare. Perhaps we should understand waiting in this context as patience and preparation in the anticipation.
Also read Learn to wait for what you want