Advent is a season of waiting. The time we prepare for Christmas. In tangible ways we are buying presents, decorating our homes, and listening to songs that get us in the mood. But deeper down, I think the question remains of how are we preparing our hearts and clearing the way for the real gift of Christmas?
I wonder if some people stop celebrating Christmas because they've given up on the idea that there is anything good coming at Christmas.
What are we really waiting for?
Every year we put up the tree, put the lights up and hang the ornaments. We may even set out a nativity scene. We do the same thing each year--do you ever wonder why? Or perhaps you've even stopped practicing some of these traditions (who likes putting the tree back in the box when the season is over?!!)
Do we still believe that there is something to hope for in life? has the waiting become too long for our weary souls? Are we living in parched times where the only things that seem like the answers are what the shopping malls and amazon tell us will bring us and our loved ones joy this Christmas? Is there anything more for our hungry souls and minds? Is there really any good news worth celebrating Christmas for?
I feel thoughtful as we put our own tree up. The boys were so excited to get the tree out of its box (no real trees here!) and woke us up at 7 am the day after Thanksgiving. By 9 or 10 am our tree was fully lit and decorated, and with only a smidgen of help from an adult. Their childlike excitement was in the air, even if mom and dad weren't encouraging it. (Some holiday music thanks to iTunes helped set the mood for mom and dad). And then the step back...admiring the tree. Beauty.
And then we wait. "How many days until Christmas?" Noah asked. And this question could never come up with a satisfactory answer as in a 5 year old's brain, weeks are hard to process. So we broke it down to days. Of course, anything greater than 1-2 days seems like eternity to a child.
But wait is all we can do. (And as adults we know that really 25 days is hardly any time at all to wait...we've been doing this so long that we know it comes and goes like the blink of an eye).
So what do we do while we wait? And what are we really waiting for? Those 20 minutes on Christmas morning when the presents are opened, and then it's all over? Days and days of waiting for this glorious moment, and then it's just a pile of wrapping paper...
What can we learn about this time of waiting? Can it not be the place of great joy as we anticipate the coming of a little baby? The arrival of a baby at the end of 9 months of carrying and "knowing" this little child. The anticipation of labor--something that brings fear, yet also joy to the waiting parents.
But do we have hope or despair as we wait? Do we feel a sense of dread as we wait? Perhaps nothing good will come after all this waiting? Or do we still have a childlike wonder...that life really does have good things at the end of a long wait? There really is something worth waiting for--something we cannot hurry and buy or fix, something we must hope for and believe will come.
What are you waiting for? A new job, a raise? Or maybe you're waiting for the depression to lift, or the anxiety to go away. Waiting for a friend, or a spouse to share life with. Waiting for things to get better.
Do you have hope as you wait? Do you still believe in the goodness that will come after the wait? Or do you feel despair? The wait has felt so long, or everything seems to point to disappointment. In a time when waiting is hard, when we can push a 1 click button on amazon to buy the thing that may bring momentary happiness, waiting is more important than ever. Our souls are hungry. If we stop for a moment and reflect, we will see, there is something we are still waiting for. Something that is still calling our childlike wonder to hope. Can we not allow the Christmas lights to beckon us to hope? That there really is something Good worth waiting for.
And he is faithful...he will not fail any of us in the waiting.
And still, we wait.
