The Gift of Waiting by Karma Pratt

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 

Psalms 37:7 (NASB)

There is life in the midst of the waiting. In this time, this period of Advent, we wait for the already / not yet Kingdom of God; that place where we live in the midst of the mess and still reach our hands toward the heavenly places. We exist in the tension of the in between, and we try to make the best of our time. 

We make time meaningful by tending to Christmas traditions - sometimes old traditions passed down from one generation to the next, and sometimes new traditions forged in the depths of changing lives and circumstances. As our family has grown, the blending of old and new has come together in a wonderful tapestry of red, green and gold. Christmas colours abound, silver bells ring out, and we all inhale the anticipation and excitement of the big day. 

December 25th has taken on new meaning now that we have kids. We all take turns sneaking candies off of freshly decorated gingerbread houses. We make wish lists for Santa and open doors on advent calendars. We are taking advent to new depths this year with readings from Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp.

 I had hoped to add a Jesse tree to our daily countdown but life had other plans and I was not able to get myself organized in time. For the first time ever, we have a wee elf on the shelf instead. She adds a new level of excitement to this already exhilarating waiting game. 

Angel the Elf approves of our gingerbread house

Our traditions are an interesting blend of the secular and the sacred. I believe there's room for all of it. As we learn about the wide range of Christmas traditions, we begin to recognize that the Kingdom story is woven throughout. The generosity of Saint Nicholas ("He was a real person!" my daughter explains to me) is applauded even as we search for significance within the Christmas story itself. 

The stars on our tree and in our front window remind us of the star that guided the first worshipers to the Messiah. The red and white striped candy canes do not simply add a delightful crunch to the peppermint bark; their colours also remind us of the blood of the lamb and the grace that washes us white as snow. There are so many layers of meaning to unwrap this Advent.

We wait for the return of the risen King. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but it's the crucified Son of Man that makes my soul leap within me. This life - the One given for all - this gift is the one I cannot help but be humbled by. My heart beats fast while I concurrently attempt to slow the rhythm of these fast paced days. 

One thing I'm learning in the midst of Advent is that I can't possibly do all the things. I am learning to lean into that which lifts my spirits, and let go of that which adds stress. It's a process. 

I am thankful for the opportunity to wait for the Risen King to return. In the mean time, we honour him with our lives, our love, our hope in the Spirit of giving that exists at Christmas. As faithful servants and honoured guests at God's table, we wait to be poured out like a drink offering, much like Paul (2 Timothy 4:6).

How do you wait? Are you patient in your stillness? Do you "quiet your heart in his presence and pray" as it is written Psalms 37:7a, The Passion Translation? Or are you an inpatient "waiter"? The one who gets up early and shakes all the gifts under the tree, or can't fall asleep to begin with because you're too excited? No matter which way you tend to lean, it is my prayer that this season of Advent would be a positive one for you. I pray you find yourself in the waiting and deepen your relationship with Christ this Christmas season.

***

Karma writes from the golden house in Northeastern BC. You can connect with her online at redraincoatcreations.com

Dwell in the Land, and Cultivate Faithfulness - Joylene M. Bailey

The problem with me is that I want to learn everything at once.

I love learning. But I often don’t take the time to learn something well before I’m off to the next thing. (Which is a strange practice for a perfectionist, now that I think about it.)

I just want to know everything. I can’t begin to explain how disappointed I was at the age of 34 - married with children - to suddenly come to the realization that I would never know everything there was to know in the world.

Devastated doesn’t even come close.

*****

Apprenticeship is very different from learning something quickly and moving on to the next enticing thing. 

When I picture an apprentice, I picture a student walking with his master. Watching closely, listening carefully, mimicking the movements, learning the tone of voice. Apprentices of the Middle Ages actually lived with their masters’ families. For several years! By the end of their apprenticeship they would have understood the meaning in every raised eyebrow, every twitch of the lips, every “harrumph!” that they encountered in their master’s actions. And they would have understood their craft inside out and backwards.

This week I have been pondering Psalm 37, with regards to my writing. Verses familiar to me that I have had highlighted for many years:

Verse 3.  Trust in the LORD, and do good …

Verse 4.  Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Verse 5.  Commit your way to the LORD …

Verse 7.  Rest in the LORD …

  

But what’s this? Artfully tucked between Trust in the LORD and Delight yourself in the LORD are two little lines conveniently skipped over time and again:

Dwell in the land

and cultivate faithfulness.

That, to me, is apprenticeship at its core.

Dwelling in the land of writers is an apprenticeship with community. I like to dwell in the land of writers.

I am fresh off a Spring WorDshop, where it was invigorating to breathe the same air as like-minded people. And I learned so many things I had never thought about in quite that way before.

I love my writers group, where I can bounce ideas off of trusted writer friends, get constructive feedback, and grow in my craft.

That’s dwelling in the land of writers.

Cultivating faithfulness takes work and attention, and is part of the apprenticeship that is often done alone.

The definition of cultivate is:

-       - to grow and care for

-       - to foster the growth of

-       - to improve by labour, care, and study

There is something about this part of apprenticeship that is just so … daily.  

It’s not something quickly learned, enabling me to blissfully skip off to learn something new. It’s a step by step, day by day growing, improving, and knowing.

It’s being faithful to the word and the Word.

Day in and day out, sitting my bottom in the chair and putting my fingers to the keyboard.

This is the hard part for someone who likes to go off to learn the latest thing.  Someone like me.

But I think that dwelling in the land and cultivating faithfulness with my writing is the best possible apprenticeship I could have.

LORD, I trust in You. I commit my writing to You. Grant me the motivation, determination, and focus to be faithful in my apprenticeship. Above all, may it bring You glory.

Amen.

 Joylene writes from Edmonton. You can catch her blog here.