From Barbara Wahlbrink, Director of Communications …
Advent is a season of waiting. What are we waiting for? Celebrations with family and friends? Presents under the tree? While many of us await the coming of a Savior, the world around us seems to be rushing frantically forward. So much discord among us and so many needs all around us can make life seem overwhelming. In today’s “insta-culture,” it’s tempting to rush forward immediately to fix whatever problem or win whatever debate we find in front of us. But the lesson of waiting is not just for Advent. Instead of the knee-jerk response of charging ahead to fix a situation or turning away because it’s just too difficult to bear, maybe we need to hold these things in our hearts for a while as we pray and listen. In my own experience, if I can muster the patience to wait, I am often surprised at how God answers the stirrings of my heart with unexpected opportunities to help, support or respond in ways I might never have imagined. May the season of Advent bring opportunities for all of us to practice the spiritual discipline of waiting as we discover the gifts of God’s grace in patience. Come, O Come Emmanuel!
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14