As this Advent season approached, the Lord etched the word “wait” on my mind and heart. Think of all the things we have to “wait” for. Perhaps you find yourself in a season of waiting as well right this very moment. (a cure for disease or cancer, marriage proposal from the love of your life, a job offer, reconciliation of a relationship, a season of darkness to lift, a loved one to come back to Jesus, a pregnancy test turn positive, being chosen as the prospective adoptive parents, or return of loved one from an extended time away.)
Did you know Advent in essence is a season of “wait”, marking the coming of the New Born King, the fulfillment of God’s promises, Messiah? In Deitrich Bonhoeffer’s Reflections on Advent and Christmas titled God in the Manger he shares, Whoever does not know the austere blessedness of waiting-that is, of hopefully doing without-will never experience the full blessing of fulfillment…For the greatest, most profound, tenderest things in the world, we must wait. It happens not here in a storm but according to the divine laws of sprouting, growing and becoming.
So, I’m pondering waiting differently. It is an opportunity to remind us of God’s story (brokenness, redemption, hope, true joy) being written on the tablet of our lives. What sets me on the plain of peace again amidst waiting is not the answer but the WHO in my wait. Just like in the awaiting of Jesus, God in human form. The Psalmist captured this heart-cry, “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us” (62:5-8 also see Ps. 37:7;27:14).
…The waiting reminds us that this is God’s story, His plan, and His promises. He is in control, and He will take this story wherever He pleases. And it reminds us, slaps us in the face at times, that we’re not the center of the story. It’s not about us, and things don’t always (or often!) go the way we’d like. Finally, all the waiting helps us think differently about both the present and the future: valuing the present as a gift, cherishing the future as our ultimate hope.
Used with permission (Cortez, Marc “Forced to wait: An Advent Reflection.” Web blog post. Transformed. Western Seminary.17 December 2012)
https://www.westernseminary.edu/transformedblog/2012/12/17/forced-to-wait-an-advent-reflection/
May this advent season cause you to see waiting in a new light.
With love,
The Rebholz Family
Mike, Leslie, Benjamin, & Baby M
Because of foster care privacy, we are unable to share Baby M's face electronically. If you would like a physical picture, please let us know by email and we will be glad to send you a copy of our family photo.
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