Advent & America?

In the church year this is new years. We begin again the timeless cycle of the church year in this season of expectant waiting. We live in this time preparing to receive the gift of God we remember each Christmas, but also we wait for the return of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in His next and final coming. I'm sure this was a very important and serious season in other periods of history or maybe even now in different cultures in our world today, but America has a hard time waiting for anything. We are so spoiled with getting what we want immediately that waiting is foreign to us.

Dawn is such a beautiful time of the day. I enjoy the moments of looking at the day in this it's time of promise. At dawn the reality is not quite here but you can begin to see the hope of the new day. Often nobody else is moving around my environment so whatever the day will bring is not going to happen at dawn, but I'm often confident what the day will eventually bring. It's that here now but not quite moment filled with expectation that gives us double enjoyment. Nothing is immediate. Today can't happen without yesterday. Whatever is meant for tomorrow needs the experience of today. We can't get to anything of value without the fullness of time that leads us to it. I have some nice toys that give me real joy like my Ipod and this computer. Who would have thought that I would be sending a blog out into the blogosphere almost every day. In the fullness of time there it was, a magical possibility that I didn't even know I was waiting for, but indeed I had to wait until I was ready for it and it was ready for me. We need to be a more patient people. We need the Advent principle. Be ready but constantly prepare, wait but wait in expectation. Not settle for what we think we need, but really search for what is best. Waiting is a lost art and a desirable one too. I guess that's why Advent comes first.