Waiting...

I love the description of Advent as a season of "expectant waiting". As believers in Jesus, we expectantly await Christ's second coming, while remembering his first coming--as an infant in a manger. Our waiting and remembering give purpose to the days and weeks leading up to Christmas. I love celebrating Advent because it is a way to keep my heart and mind engaged during this season that has become so commercialized.

I came home from a beautiful Advent service at our church last night and turned on the television to catch up on the latest news from the San Bernardino shooting. My heart is so heavy over this. It's so close on the heels of the the Colorado Springs shooting. And Paris. It's so hard to make sense of all of it isn't it? Things just feel so heightened to me right now--all of the bad in the world is just so overwhelming.

I woke up this morning with the words "expectant waiting" on my heart. Just as so many Jewish believers were waiting for a Messiah two thousand years ago to come and rescue and restore, I find myself waiting for Jesus to return for those very reasons. I do not understand all that is going on in the world today, but I am grateful for a Redeemer and for the hope that comes from knowing He will return and set all things right. And so I pray...and grieve...and listen...and love...and hope...and wait. Expectantly.