Here in Galveston, we have reached a stage in our recovery from Hurricane Ike that is characterized by a great deal of waiting. Waiting for the insurance adjuster, waiting for the contractor, waiting for FEMA, waiting for the check in the mail, waiting for a roof over our head. Waiting, and lots of it!
How fitting it is to reach that stage during Advent, when our waiting is set in the context of God's redemptive plans. People of faith have done a lot of waiting and learned something from it. I am reminded of this comment by the late Henri Nouwen:
"Waiting, as we see it in the people on the first pages of the Gospel, is waiting with a sense of promise. 'Zechariah...your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son.' 'Mary...Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son.' (Luke 1. 13, 31) People who wait have received a promise that allows them to wait. They have received something that is at work in them, like a seed that has started to grow. This is very important. We can only really wait if what we are waiting for has already begun in us. So waiting is never a movement from nothing to something. It is always a movement from something to something more."
RDP+
Dear Father Pogue,
Our middle child's school, St Martin's, is taking a collection to help Trinity. Since the storm and current economic environment, Eric and I thought it would be a perfect time to introduce to our young children the gift of truly giving. We would love to sponsor a Galveston family and help make their Christmas brighter. Do you have any suggestions on who we could help? Thanks, Shelby
Posted by: Shelby Nielsen | 12/10/2008 at 09:59 PM