I remember the feeling. 1996 felt like an eternity away and I just could not wait for it. It was about 1993 and remember hearing on the news that a new Mars lander would be launched to Mars in 1996. 1996?! That was years away for me. How could anyone wait that long? I was about eleven years old and I distinctly remember sitting in our family’s living room and wondering what I could do for the next THREE YEARS that could make the time go faster. No human should have to wait that long. I would be a teenager before Mars Pathfinder would roll out onto the red planet. But there was nothing to be done about it but wait.
So I waited. I remember each year would go by and I knew I was closer to 1996. I loved space news and back then there was no internet to track with these things. I would pay attention to the radio or TV and look in magazines for pictures of what the lander and rover might look like.
1994; waiting. 1995; waiting. Finally, 1996! The space ship launched and I realized that I would have to wait until 1997 for the lander to reach its destination. I waited again until finally, the day had come and I enjoyed every bit of news I could find when that little rover dropped down and worked its way onto a new planet. The wait was over.
Advent is a season of waiting. For many it’s a time where we eagerly anticipate the Christmas story. While we may know how the Christmas story goes and can skip to the end, we still enter the waiting story. What does waiting do for us? Is there any value? In a time when we can access any information, and have any product or meal delivered to our door almost immediately, why should anyone wait for anything?
The Advent story sets out a season of waiting because waiting produces in us a new posture, affection, and response. When we learn to wait and anticipate well, we begin to see ourselves and others in a way we could not before. We may begin to see the slow and gentle work of God in our lives, or the growing relationships we have with friends and neighbours. Waiting changes us and instills in us new hope, peace, joy, and love where before we had only anxious expectations. Waiting could quite possibly be a gift.
How might we wait on each other in this season? Beyond the gifts of food and drink, we could also offer each other the gift of patience. Some people take time to grow, I know I do. It takes me awhile to learn, understand, and see things as the should be seen. I need the patience of others towards me, and in turn I’m learning to be patient with the people around me. Growth is slow, it’s just how it goes. There is no microwave setting for relationships, especially between neighbours. So we have to wait, and that’s ok.
What are you waiting for, or who might you be waiting on, this Christmas season?
