top of page
Writer's pictureFaith & Fandom

Amy & Rory: Those Who Wait



Amelia Pond is not my favorite companion, I’m not enamored with her, nor do I get wibbly wobbly about her. What I do love though is her story. More importantly the story of her and Rory (it doesn’t hurt that their story leads to River’s). The family who waited. Season 5 kicked off remarkably well. In fact I believe if we would have started with that intro, rather than with 9 and Rose, it would have taken off even faster, but anyway. The concept of a lonely little girl, shrouded in mysterious circumstances, a raggedy man in a blue box crashes into her world, promises her the stars, says he will return in 5 minutes, and then....nothing. I can’t imagine the heartache that little girl felt the next morning. I bet that ache grew to break her in so many ways, as she mentions therapy, and even her childhood friends-through adults know of her “obsession” with the raggedy man. She knew what she saw, she witnessed it, but with the circumstances and the waiting, even the most certain things can become doubtful.

In Matthew 11 we see one of greatest examples of this I’ve ever seen. John the Baptist, Jesus’s cousin, the guy whose mom rubbed bellies with Jesus’s mom, who grew up together, who preached about Him, who baptized Him, and literally heard God speak, begins to doubt.


John had more personal knowledge that Jesus was the real deal than anyone, and yet check this out; “2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent a message by his disciples 3 and asked Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” John knew as he breathed that Jesus was the messiah, but his circumstances caused him to doubt. He was talking about Jesus before anyone else knew to, he was Jesus family, he was there when it all started, and yet, he was alone in a prison cell, and hearing reports of Jesus that didn’t live up to his concepts of what the ‘Messiah’ should be doing. His circumstances caused him to lose sight of what he knew to be true. Just like Amy had convinced herself the Doctor was her imaginary friend, John convinced himself his cousin, wasn’t the messiah.

Then comes poor Rory, the forgettable sidekick you pity, who was almost nothing but a running joke, right up until you get to Demon’s Run. Rory the Roman; the man who had to fight for affection against the last Time Lord himself, and came out on top. Bottom line after a long series of events, Amy is mortally wounded, and all of creation is unraveling and The Doctor’s plan is to leave her in the Pandorica (a trap you can’t escape, even by dying) for 2,000 years, until she can be healed. Rory decided not to time travel with the doctor, but instead to wait by Amy and protect her. As the Doctor explains

“The Doctor: No! Rory, no! Don't even think about it! Rory: She'll be all alone! The Doctor: She won't feel it. Rory: Yeah, you bet she won't! The Doctor: 2,000 years, Rory. You won't even sleep - you'd be conscious every second. it would drive you mad.”


Yet none of that stops Rory, Amy is worth the wait to him. Rory Williams, a fictional character makes every other boyfriend and husband in the world look like a chump (the same concept as in twilight, but Rory actually isn’t an emo sparkly vampire). He waited for her.

How many of us are that faithful, that diligent with anything? How many of us would wait on our spouses for years? How many of us would wait for God? We are by nature impatient and opportunistic, which is why I admire Rory so much. It is an example not just spiritually but also as a husband.

I feel like on the other hand we have literally no patience when it comes to God. If He doesn’t show up or answer us immediately, we turn around and walk away. Look at the disciples after Jesus was crucified. The disciples all scattered and ran. They didn’t volunteer to stand by the cross like Rory did the Pandorica, they ran. Even the night before the crucifixion in the garden the disciples couldn’t even wait as Jesus prayed, they didn’t run off, but they abandoned Him with sleep. Jesus had spent 3 years straight with these guys, day in and day out. They were his family and then they acted like He never existed.


What cracks me up is that even after he appeared to them, they still took forever to get moving. In John 20 Jesus has personally revealed Himself to His disciples, and done many wonders. Then check out John 21:3 “I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter said to them, “We’re coming with you,” they told him. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” Do you see this? Jesus has died, resurrected, and shown Himself to His disciples, and their response, fishing. Don’t you think when Jesus appeared it would have been a great time to tell others, or prepare the world, preach, heal, do something, but they go fishing. So much for waiting. Imagine how the story would have worked if

he said to the Doctor, “Amy will be fine, let’s go fishing.”


Part of me wants to say that I would have taken the world by storm, but I’m also not perfect or at least that I would have been like Rory and remained vigilant, but the bigger thing is what we take from it all. Wait on God. Wait, not as an act of desperation when you’ve run out of options, but as an intentional act of faithfulness and devotion

“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” – Isaiah 30:18

Take a lesson from Rory the Robot, wait. Wait on the people you love. Wait on God. It’s worth it. We are made better when we wait. “I waited. 2,000 years. I waited for you.”- Rory.

If something in our life is worth having, it’s worth waiting on, especially when it comes to waiting on God.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”- Psalm 27:14

Comments


SUBSCRIBE

Thanks for Submitting!

bottom of page