{"id":8238,"date":"2005-12-15T00:31:20","date_gmt":"2005-12-15T05:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=8238"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:29:10","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:29:10","slug":"4640","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2005\/12\/15\/4640\/","title":{"rendered":"Advent: We’re Too Impatient \u2013 Learn to Wait!"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOWIE, MD (December 15, 2005)\u00a0 – Editor’s note: In preparation for the\u00a0 Christmas observance, Covenant Communications is sharing devotionals\u00a0 that originally appeared in local Covenant church newsletters and are\u00a0 being published here by permission. The following comes from Cheryl\u00a0 Nilson of Church of the Redeemer in Bowie.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Cheryl Nilson<\/div>\n
This year’s news reports on Black Friday made me think that Advent might\u00a0 be a little like people waiting outside in the cold and dark for a store\u00a0 to open \u2013 though nothing like a crowd stampeding in to grab the first\u00a0 bargains. Advent is a time of waiting and expectation, not a time of\u00a0 instant gratification, a time of gradually building hope rather than a\u00a0 time to pull out all the stops (that would be Christmas \u2013 or maybe even\u00a0 Easter).<\/div>\n
The traditional church calendar places the beginning of the Christmas\u00a0 season on Christmas day, unlike the world of commerce, which places it\u00a0 somewhere before Halloween. Without getting too legalistic, there is\u00a0 much to be gained from a season of expectation, especially when those\u00a0 expectations are placed on something reliable, like the presence of God\u00a0 with us, Emmanuel.<\/div>\n
The world is absolutely right that Christmas is a time of great joy; a\u00a0 time to celebrate with generosity, that joy is not the satisfaction of\u00a0 all our earthly desires. Even good and noble desires – like the longing\u00a0 for a whole and healthy family, for dependable and loving companionship,\u00a0 for peace and contentment – will not be perfectly fulfilled this\u00a0 Christmas, no matter how good we’ve been all year!<\/div>\n
The holiday season may even make our longing and losses feel more acute.\u00a0 Marking this time as Advent and not yet Christmas reminds us that we are\u00a0 still in a time of waiting for God’s glorious fulfillment.<\/div>\n
We light candles of hope in our homes and in our hearts because we know\u00a0 that what we hope for is on the way and until then, God gives us enough\u00a0 light and warmth for the waiting. No earthly life is so perfect that\u00a0 there is no room for God to speak to us through grief and unmet\u00a0 longings. Neither is any life so completely bereft of grace that God\u00a0 will not give us enough hope to sustain us (though some of us go through\u00a0 dark nights when we struggle to believe this is true).<\/div>\n
Whether found in the dazzle of glittering Christmas trees or in the\u00a0 flame of a single beautiful taper in the darkness, light and life are\u00a0 God’s gifts to each of his children this season. These gifts also are\u00a0 offered to those who have yet to accept them. May his gifts warm your\u00a0 heart as you wait.<\/div>\n
(Editor’s note: to read earlier Advent messages, please see:<\/strong><\/div>\n