“Hurry up and wait!”  We all know that feeling where we have had to rush and hurry to get ready and be somewhere, and then we have to sit and wait.  However, it is not a calm and restful waiting; we wait with shallow breathing, rapid pulse, and a nervousness about the next step or the next event.  I find this most pronounced when leaving for the airport.  It is a mixture of hurrying because of the possibly long security lines, the possible traffic delays, and even the fear of forgetting to pack something.  Then you finally arrive, and in our case usually with time to spare because of our extra rushing, you have to just wait… that is until you are hurrying to find your seat, get your carry-on in the overhead compartment, and buckle up.  It is not an easy process.  

I have appreciated the season of Advent in our liturgical cycle for this very reason: that it brings in one of the unavoidable parts of our lives (our waiting) and reminds us that God is there waiting with us.  

God is in the stressful waiting just as much as God is in the silence and the prophetic action.  This uncomfortable and stressful part of life is just as full of the holy as the other times when things are really good or really tough.  God is an expert at waiting: God waited in the beginning and brought human beings into existence after everything else was ready.  God waited for the ancient nation of Israel to be and remain faithful, and sent the prophets to help.  God waited for the right time to send the Son, God in the flesh, into the world, and then waited nine months for The Virgin Mary to give birth.  God waited for the disciples to understand more fully, and God waited in the tomb for three days before resurrection.  And God waits now, ever patient, ever hopeful.  

In fact, I think God waits an awfully lot for us these days too.  God is remaking creation and yearning for us to be a part of it, and God still waits on us- humanity- to help make God’s Kingdom come on this earth.  I have heard many people ask over the years, "why does God allow suffering, or hunger, or tragedy- why doesn’t God fix it?”  Arguably this is one of the mysteries of our faith, however, I often wonder if it is because God is waiting on us to do it.  If God has not already given us the resources to make a better world and now sits anxiously waiting. 

At the very least, God is waiting on us to reconnect, to pray, to love, and to serve.  So while we hurry up and wait anxiously this holiday season, I also invite you to breath deeply and trust that God is there, in the midst of it, loving you unconditionally and more than you can imagine.  And waiting with hope that you will walk closer with God this year.  

Blessings, 

Jesse+