Waiting

It's hard to believe, but in ten days (or less!), I will have submitted all of my coursework for my first semester of seminary. I have learned a lot and am so grateful for the opportunity. I have two more movies to watch, two papers to write, and one test to take. And a couple more classes and lectures too. Oh, and some reading. And studying. Well, I guess there's more than I first thought! In other news, I found out today I'm eligible for a grant that I thought I wasn't eligible for this semester. So, I'm delighted and so thankful to have some extra money going into my school account.

I've been thinking about waiting. In a few weeks we will celebrate the New Year with parties and fun and most of us will take some time to think about all that has been and then what is going to be. Many people will come up with resolutions or goals for the coming year and it is pretty exciting to imagine what may be. Christians around the world celebrated the new year recently too, with the First Sunday of Advent. It was very quiet. You may have missed it. It was in the busy weekend of Thanksgiving. Or maybe it's easier to remember if I say it was the day between Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. You know, after Black Friday, which is so good we have start on Thursday... because we just can't wait (but I digress).

Christians start the year with the Season of Advent. During Advent, one of the things we consider is waiting. We remember our brothers and sisters of years ago waiting for the coming of the Messiah. We remember that we too are waiting for the coming of Jesus. I think what is aggravating about waiting, and why we have so much trouble waiting, is that waiting seems like wasted time. We only have 24 hours per day and we have them pretty much chock-full of stuff to do, so we can't waste time. Even when we aren't pressed for time, leisure time is so odd that it's difficult to adjust to not being in a hurry. I've been thinking that there must be a better way, and I think we can see how by looking at Advent. During Advent, many churches light candles around a wreath, one candle per week until the center candle is lit on Christmas Eve. Each candle represents something; many churches use the candles to represent peace, hope, joy, and love. So, while we wait during Advent, it would be good to learn and practice peace, hope, joy, and love. Of course, it's hard to practice anything during December unless we are intentional. I've been challenging myself to use my "wait" time to consider how I can be peaceful, hopeful, joyful, and loving. It starts in my own heart. On some days, that's where it stays because, honestly, I need peace, hope, joy, and love too. But some days, it can spill out. When following the example of Christ, life isn't a waste of time, not even when we are waiting.