What the Week Taught Us About Waiting

What the Week Taught Us About Waiting
By: Teresa Nikas

From the fictional town of Cedar Valley, where characters from Quiet Echo continue to respond to real-world events.

Two stories caught our attention this week, and at first glance, they have nothing in common.

One was about a pipeline in Alaska—a $44 billion project, with a governor proposing a 90 percent tax cut to make it happen. The other was about teenagers putting down their phones, deciding on their own that social media was doing them more harm than good. Oil and gas executives in boardrooms. Kids in bedrooms. What could possibly connect them?

I’ve been thinking about that question all week. And I think the answer is this: both stories are about who we trust to tell us what’s good for us—and what happens when we stop believing them.

Lars wrote on Wednesday about the Alaska LNG deal. The pitch is familiar: give us what we want now, and prosperity will follow. Accept less so that something gets built. The gas has been sitting under the North Slope for a long time, and we’re told this is our last chance, that urgency demands sacrifice. But Lars asked a better question: If a company can’t make the numbers work at honest rates, why should we bend? The gas isn’t going anywhere. It can wait for a partner who comes to the table ready to pay their share.

Patience. That’s not a word we hear much in negotiations. But sometimes it’s the wisest word there is.

Then on Thursday, Chloe wrote about the Pew study—the one showing that nearly half of teenagers now believe social media is harming their generation. Forty-four percent have tried to cut back. These kids weren’t lectured into this. They weren’t forced by parents or laws. They lived the experience, felt the weight of it, and chose differently. They decided that the product being sold to them—connection, community, belonging—wasn’t delivering what it promised.

They’re learning to wait, too. To look up from the screen. To be present in rooms that don’t glow.

Here’s what strikes me: in both cases, the people closest to the ground are seeing more clearly than the people at the top.

The borough mayors in Alaska—the ones who’d actually host that pipeline infrastructure—weren’t consulted before the tax deal was announced. They’re asking for real math, real impact data, a seat at the table. They’re not saying no. They’re saying slow down. Show us.

The teenagers aren’t waiting for Congress to regulate Silicon Valley. They’re not waiting for tech companies to develop a conscience. They’re making their own choices, one phone placed face-down at a time.

This is how real change happens. Not from press conferences or policy papers. From people who decide that what they’re being sold isn’t worth the price. From communities that remember they have the right to ask questions. From kids who trust their own experience over the algorithm’s promise.

We live in an age that rewards speed. Urgency is the constant sales pitch—act now, before it’s too late, before the opportunity closes. But urgency can be a manipulation. It can be a way of bypassing the wisdom that only comes with time.

The gas will still be there. The teenagers will still have phones. The question is whether we’ll make decisions from pressure or from principle.

This week, from an Alaskan pipeline to a teenager’s bedroom, the quiet voices said the same thing: We can wait. We can ask better questions. We don’t have to accept the first deal on the table just because someone tells us it’s now or never.

Maybe that’s the thread that runs through everything worth doing. The willingness to slow down. To trust what’s real over what’s rushed. To believe that patience isn’t weakness—it’s wisdom.

As we head into this last week before Christmas, that’s my quiet question for you: What in your life is asking you to slow down? And what might you see more clearly if you did?

This editorial is part of the fictional Cedar Valley News series. While the people and town are fictional, the national events they reflect on are real.

Want to know the full story behind Cedar Valley? Teresa, Caleb, Dan, and the community you’ve come to know in these editorials first came together in Quiet Echo: When Loud Voices Divide, Quiet Ones Bring Together. Discover how a small town found its way from fear to fellowship—one quiet act of courage at a time. Available on Amazon: https://bit.ly/3ME4nSs

It’s free, live, and fresh! Quiet Echo—A Cedar Valley News Podcast is live on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/4nV8XsE, Spotify: https://bit.ly/4hdNHfX, YouTube: https://bit.ly/48Zfu1g , and Podcastle: https://bit.ly/4pYRstE. Every day, you can hear Cedar Valley’s editorials read aloud by the voices you’ve come to know—warm, steady, and rooted in the values we share. Step into the rhythm of our town, one short reflection at a time. Wherever you listen, you’ll feel right at home. Presented by the Publication Consultants:  https://publicationconsultants.com/

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