Waiting

Advent has always been about waiting. As a child, before I had even heard about Advent, I remember the waiting: waiting for the Christmas cake to ‘season’, waiting for the Christmas parcels and cards to arrive from aunts and uncles, waiting to put up the Christmas tree, waiting for the Christmas concerts to happen at school and church, and of course waiting for Christmas morning!

Things have changed over the years. Advent traditions have come and gone. Throughout the business of a young family, of studying, of working, there was always that kernel of waiting, of waiting for something special to happen. This

year, it has changed again, and is now the waiting for two of our grandchildren to return from university to celebrate Christmas at home.

When I first became aware of Advent, I remember thinking that the waiting was all about waiting for Jesus’ birth, and although I tried to make that the focus of my thoughts, so many other things kept getting in the way. It is only fairly recently that I have been able to see that it is O.K. for the waiting to take other forms.

The Bible is full of stories of people having to wait on God, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, Paul. All of these people and more throughout the Bible experienced the value of waiting. Waiting revealed their true motives It built both patience and anticipation. It even transformed their character.

While the word Christmas will always bring back to me the sounds of a Christmas carols, the crunching of the snow underfoot, the woodsy smell of the Christmas tree, the hard Christmas candies, the bowl of nuts that had to be shelled by hand and the tangerine in the toe of my Christmas stocking, it will aways the waiting of the Advent season that holds the dearest memories of those years past.

I hope your Advent time has involved some waiting as well: the waiting that teaches us patience, lets us hope, and promises us joy.

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NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

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