Words from a friend have played over and over in my head for the last few days… “I’m praying for you ladies, as we are all in our own season of waiting.”

Waiting. My mind wanders to what it is that I’m waiting for…and my heart aches. I long for things that seem so far away, for dreams that feel impossible … so tangible and out of reach at the same time.

Waiting.

Aren’t we all?

I’m at a restful place in life and feel more content than I think I ever have, yet I’m a dreamer, and therefore I’ll always be in some stage of waiting. I’ll be patient, going days without thinking about “it”, then a song will play, an idea will cross my mind and my thoughts wander to a dream I have for my family and our future. (Someday, when I’m ready, I’ll elaborate 🙂 Because remember that whole thing about how scary it is to share your dreams. Yep, thats real.)

I think of so many of my friends…waiting for jobs, marriage, babies, life direction, financial stability, moving, graduation and the list goes on.

This longing of the heart, the deep dissonance with reality is nothing new to our human souls. We were created to wait, to long, to anticipate something greater than this. If there has ever been a time in my life, it has been these last few months of tragedy and controversy-filled media that has focused my heart on the hope that Jesus will return and He will restore. For those of us who cling to this expectation, we will always be waiting for that day…oh, that glorious day.

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The Christian tradition of Advent speaks to this reality. For me, Advent has long signified a simple countdown to Christmas through the lighting of tall, dripping candles. But this year, I have challenged myself to turn my heart in its truer meaning.

While the Christmas season can hold so much joy and excitement, it can also be a time of remembering all is not yet complete, that God’s Kingdom is indeed here, but not completely. Advent symbolizes the current state of the church as God’s people wait for the return of Christ and for the fullness of His Kingdom.

May we use this Advent season to reflect on our waiting and move forward in two ways:

1) In Hope.

Whether your waiting is painful or full of joyful anticipation, may we cling to the promise that these heartaches will end. That soon and very soon, our King is coming. He came once, humbly and perfect. And He will come again, victorious and in beautiful finality.

“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who  are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28.

2) In Action.

Our seasons of waiting do not give us a license or excuse to be idle. Life on earth will never be “complete” and we will never arrive at the perfect place to do all of those things we have been waiting for. When I’m in college I will _______. When I graduate I will _________. When I’m married I will _________. When I make more money I will ________.  Your life has purpose, your season has power. Embrace today and who you are. Move forward, because in one way or another, the waiting will never end.

As you wrestle with the deep longings of your heart this season… receiving family Christmas cards while you wait to have a family of your own, watching kids open presents while you cling to the hope of someday having children, feeling helpless in lingering illness, remembering and missing family and friends who have passed…may you find hope and lasting joy in the truth of what this season represents– a coming age where the waiting will end once and for all, where we will be reunited with the One who can wipe our final tears.

Let us draw our hearts toward hope, THE hope of the world, and the only hope that can bring healing to our waiting hearts.

And in our waiting may these words of a popular Advent hymn ring truer and find a deeper meaning in our hearts:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appears.

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

{Stay tuned for stories of women in waiting.} 

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