It's Advent! Hurry up and Wait!

We have now entered the season of the Church year we call Advent.  This is part of the Christian tradition to which I belong.  It marks the beginning of the year for us faith-wise.  It's significant because it reminds us of the years/decades/centuries where God's people waited for God to send the promised Messiah.  So during this season, we hear the promises that God made, and we see how God patiently waited until the time was just right.

I don't know about you, but waiting isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world to do.  The thing is, I am actually a fairly patient person a good portion of the time.  However, it is far too often that I get impatient.  I want things done and don't want to have to wait until I have the time, or until others get the idea and do it.  My impatience drives my life far too often.

Yet, God waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Fulfillment of a promise rarely happens immediately.  If it did, there would be no need for the promise.  The reason we have to make a promise in the first place is because it's not happening right now, right away.  It will happen, but until it does, waiting is called for.  Patience is called for.

In some ways, our current society life reflects this.  It's the time when many are buying gifts, putting up trees, and wrapping up presents for the tree and the stockings.  Yet, we wait until the time to open them. If you have kids, you get to teach patience (and believe me, they don't want to wait!). Even for you, you might be driven to distraction by the unknown thing(s) sitting in a brightly wrapped package, just beckoning to you.  Yet, we wait.

The season of Advent is a season of waiting.  God's promise will be fulfilled, which began with the sending of His Son, who would be born of a human woman and become a human being. Even then, though, redemption would wait.  It would be thirty or so years before the action of redemption occurred.  Even then, waiting was called for, as the tomb and grave seemed too much to defeat.  But the promise was fulfilled as the giver of life came back to life, to give new life to all who believe it was done for them.

So wait.  Take a few deep breaths when you find yourself impatient.  Relax, close your eyes, count slowly to ten, and then remember.  Waiting is a challenge, but God is growing you in that challenge.