Clay in the Hands

Yesterday I took a look at Advent and the idea of waiting.  You can read what I said here.  But as we think about waiting, we must acknowledge that each of us come at this discipline of waiting from different experience, and even more relevant to my thought today, with different things pulling on us from different directions.

Some come to this time of year with happiness and excited anticipation.  The thought of Christmas and Jesus’ birth turns an emotive response of sheer enjoyment deep within.  The lights, the sounds, children’s faces beaming all add to the scene.

Others come to this time of year with sadness.  This season is a reminder of loss.  This season is especially hard for those who have lost someone close this past year.

Still others come to this season with dread.  There is no sense of anticipation – only a resolve to “get through it.”

So waiting takes on a broader significance when we think about this season in this way.

But let me add a layer to this mystery of waiting.  We celebrate advent as a time of waiting for the coming messiah.  The reality is that all of us experience waiting on God – waiting for an answer to our prayer – seeking a sense of divine presence – looking for hope in seemingly hopeless situations.  We each have experienced waiting.

Tomorrow, we will look more deeply at this mystery and offer thought on the significance of waiting in our spiritual progression.

But until then . . . wait.  Isaiah 40 says those who wait on the Lord will experience renewed strength.

Wait on the Lord today.