Waiting: Not Always a Bad Thing
This week, my ten-year-old twin nieces are having some problems with this waiting business. Much to my sister's horror, they found their Christmas presents. Whether they snooped around and found the loot or whether their teenage brother set them up for trouble is still a matter of debate, but this is sad on several levels. My sister absolutely loves buying her children gifts. She loves the surprise on Christmas morning, as well as the anticipation the twins exhibit in the months prior to that morning. She was literally in tears because her well planned surprise has been ruined. I can tell the twins are sad about the lost suprise as well. Whether or not kids will admit, waitng and suprises are a big part of what makes this season so much fun for them. Waiting almost always makes the receivng more special.
I love what Lauren Winner says about advent in her memoir Girl Meets God. When she first converted to Christianity, her pastor explained to her that she never goes to Christmas parties before Christmas day because the waiting of advent is supposed to be a little anxious. Lauren says, "I picture Jane Austen heroines. They never are quite sure their intended will come. We as Christians can be sure, we can rest easy in the promises of Scripture. But we are meant to feel a touch of that anxious handkerchief-wringing expectation all the same."
Waiting is not often an enjoyable thing, but it makes you slow down and it builds a greater appreciation of what we are receiving. This is why I love Advent at Journey. At our Sunday gatherings, we are intentionally slowing down and waiting with eager expectations for the day that celebrates one of the greatest things ever- the incarnation. We spend time in silence on Sunday evenings to meditate on the child who was born in Bethlehem, the God who put on flesh and moved into our neighborhood and whose Spirit remains among us, and the time that is coming when this Christ child that we are celebrating will make all things new. We are rejoicing in the fact that hope has entered our world and hope remains here, and we are wringing our handkerchiefs for the day when our hope is fully realized. The beauty of such a thing must be worth all the waiting that time can muster.
- Janalee Shadburn
I love what Lauren Winner says about advent in her memoir Girl Meets God. When she first converted to Christianity, her pastor explained to her that she never goes to Christmas parties before Christmas day because the waiting of advent is supposed to be a little anxious. Lauren says, "I picture Jane Austen heroines. They never are quite sure their intended will come. We as Christians can be sure, we can rest easy in the promises of Scripture. But we are meant to feel a touch of that anxious handkerchief-wringing expectation all the same."
Waiting is not often an enjoyable thing, but it makes you slow down and it builds a greater appreciation of what we are receiving. This is why I love Advent at Journey. At our Sunday gatherings, we are intentionally slowing down and waiting with eager expectations for the day that celebrates one of the greatest things ever- the incarnation. We spend time in silence on Sunday evenings to meditate on the child who was born in Bethlehem, the God who put on flesh and moved into our neighborhood and whose Spirit remains among us, and the time that is coming when this Christ child that we are celebrating will make all things new. We are rejoicing in the fact that hope has entered our world and hope remains here, and we are wringing our handkerchiefs for the day when our hope is fully realized. The beauty of such a thing must be worth all the waiting that time can muster.
- Janalee Shadburn
posted by LukeMiller at 8:30 PM
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