How To Wait

And so the wait begins. P7 transfer tests are over. They’ve enjoyed their free hot chocolate and buns, kicking off the Christmas season by gleefully dumping all those practice papers in the recycling bin. For now, we’ll forget about it but bless their little pre-teen hearts, it’s not over. Waiting for results day, waiting for the postman, waiting for a letter from their new school, it’s all waiting and more waiting. In the meantime, it’s ‘I can’t wait for Christmas!’

We are all waiting.

Waiting for something to begin.

Waiting for something to end.

Waiting for arrival.

Waiting for change.

The beginning of Advent is a time to pause and consider what we are waiting for because no matter what it is, we are dependent on something or someone to bring an end to our waiting. Things are out of our hands, beyond our control and all we can do is wait.

But we are not good at it. We don’t want to rely on anything or anyone else, we would rather have the power to control timelines, to manage time frames.

Waiting impatiently.

Waiting reluctantly.

Waiting fearfully.

Waiting reminds us that we are not the authors of our own story and outcomes are not guaranteed but there is a promise to hold on to in the waiting and it can change everything.

‘He has sent us a mighty Saviour from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago.’ Luke 1:69-70 (NLT)

Waiting is part of God’s plan for his people. When it feels like we are in a void between moments, the promise of Jesus changes how we wait. It transforms our impatience into trust, our reluctance to hope and our fear into gladness.

In the words of a poem written by a friend, the imagined voice of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35) says,

‘I’ve been waiting

With expectant joy

For the promised one.’

‘I’ve been longing

With expectant hope

For the promised one.’

Simeon, after faithful, eager waiting, met Jesus and was able to say,

‘Today I am rejoicing

With indescribable gladness

He has come.’

The promised one came and now is with us in our waiting before he comes again to reveal the complete glory of all that we wait for.

The void between moments becomes the space where our waiting is expectantly hopeful and our longing is glittered with joy.

God is the author of our stories, the controller of time frames and the fulfiller of promises.

May Advent be for us a time of prayerful waiting, trusting that just like Simeon, the Holy Spirit will lead us to Jesus and we will bless God with joyous praise and worship.

(‘Simeon’ from A Three 16 Christmas by Shelley Spiers)