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Wait! This word usually strikes a dissonant chord within us. We have become a people of instant gratification. We want what we want—or to do what we want to do—immediately. Waiting is not something we choose to do. It can be difficult. But it can also be joyful. The difference can be hopeful anticipation.
Studies say the average person spends about three years of his or her life waiting. Advent invites us to appreciate the waiting experience, thereby creating time and space for the coming of Christ. The season of Advent can be a time for us to transform “regular waiting” into “holy waiting.” While impatience and irritation sometimes accompany regular waiting, holy waiting brings peace and hopefulness. Holy waiting brings us closer to the mystery of the season of Advent—the coming of Emmanuel, God with us.
Holy waiting requires making space, making room in our lives for Christ to be born. These days of waiting during Advent invite people of faith to wait in hope and anticipation. Holy waiting affirms that God is with us in the time of waiting.
In these days of holy waiting, the Psalmist offers this assurance: “I keep the Lord always before me—Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.” (Psalm 16:8a-9). During this season of Advent we wait with an openness to the presence of God. We wait—in anticipation, expectation, gladness, security, and hope.
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