Waiting.... Hoping.....

"But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."  (Mark 13:32)

How are you at waiting?  Depending on what I can "do" while I'm waiting I can be okay.  If, however, I have to sit still, it is going to take a very long time or doesn't seem to have a time frame at all I am probably (like most people) not very good at it.  I remember reading about a child asking if the waiting time for "in a minute" was really going to be 60 seconds.  I think we can all be wondering how long "in a minute" can be!

Today starts the season of Advent.  On the Liturgical calendar it is the start of the "new" year.  It is a time of preparation for the celebration of Jesus birthday AND preparing for His return.  A combination of the "already" -- celebrating the birth of 2000+ years ago, and the "not yet" -- preparing for His return and hoping it will be soon.  This makes for an interesting time of "waiting" and "hoping" while we are preparing for both celebrating the birthday and being ready for the return.  Like we are told, here and in other places, "no one knows" when this will come.

The idea is to be ready, for Jesus return, to happen NOW while celebrating Emmanuel - God IS with us, the birth we are also celebrating.  The idea is to strengthen our relationship with God to such a point we are ready.  The idea is to use the wait time to prepare, with hope for the return.  Maybe we could start our "new year's" resolution today (confuses people when you do!) so we can work on strengthening our relationship with God.  Something to think about..........