Delayed Gratification

Good Morning All,

Anticipation! Promise! Preparation! Waiting! Wonder! Mystery! These are just a few of the watchwords that set the Advent stage for us… Advent begins the Church year for us as Christians. Advent also flows into the natural rhythm of late fall and the onset of winter. Nature is preparing for the deep sleep of winter; fluffing her pillow and snuggling underneath her warm, thick quilt; anticipating a long, winter’s nap.

Winter is known for its darkness yet it continues its work hidden beneath the ground. And in the midst of this shroud of mystery, Advent comes. Together Advent and winter invite us to long in hope as we anticipate the return of more sunlight and the birth of the Word made Flesh. Can you feel the power in this combined effort? Advent and Nature…Nature and Advent.

It’s a power that stirs deep within us…hidden, yet somehow known, as it rumbles around in our hearts and minds. We long to be embraced by the Holy; we long for our lives to be different in some way; we long for the world to be different... Advent is a season of reflection… remembering the people and events that have shaped our lives, most recently as well as in years gone by; people and events, both joy-filled and sad. And we wait…we wait in hope…knowing and believing that the Light of the World is coming…a time of true joy as the Light of the World dispels any and all sadness.

Some folks want to equate waiting with wasting…and we can indeed waste time in our waiting. But nature reminds us that everything comes in due season and waiting to its fullness makes all the difference to our sense of wholeness and well being. Gertrud Mueller Nelson, in her book, To Dance with God, reminds us that “a shortened period of incubation brings forth what is not whole or strong or at times even alive. Brewing, baking, simmering, fermenting, ripening, germinating, gestating are the processes of becoming and are symbolic states of being which belong in a life of value, necessary to transformation.”

While waiting is not often a welcomed guest in our lives, maybe the best gift we can give ourselves is to give waiting a new look…to dress it up a bit; maybe top it off with a bright red bow; so that we may better appreciate the power and purpose that waiting brings us. After all, isn’t it instant gratification that usually gets us in trouble or diminishes the act?

As we make our way to Bethlehem , let’s give a cheer to delayed gratification…feeling its power; seeking ways that bring meaning to our lives and purpose to our days; longing to experience the mystery of this sacred time… waiting in hope for the birth of the Christ Child…

Blessings, Joanne