Waiting

Waiting

Isaiah 40:29-31

            Every December my wife and I watch some of the Christmas movies on a channel sponsored by a company known for its greeting cards.  I’m sure you can figure out which channel and which company I mean.

            Every year several new movies are introduced.  They follow the same general plot line as previous films.  A young single person (usually, but not always female) who works for a big-city company is sent to a small town on some business mission.  While there she (or he) meets the love of her/his life, leaves the big-city company to find happiness and the true meaning of Christmas in the small town.

            This year we’ve noticed a few themes which run through most of the movies.  First, in the past, the big city company boss has always been on the grouchy side.  This year, when the young person announces her (his) decision to move, the boss is more understanding.

            Another theme this year is baking Christmas cookies, one of the activities that hooks the big-city newcomer to the small-town way of life.  This involves a small-town family, usually related in some way to the opposite gender love interest.  The third theme is snowball fights; not serious ones of course, but more like throwing handfuls of snow in fun.

            I say this not to arouse interest in these movies, which can be really hokey, but because, for some reason, my blogs this Advent season also seem to be following a theme.  Without meaning to, I’ve gotten stuck on patience and waiting. 

It’s a good theme, and one that needs to be focused on.  Our lives are much too busy.  When I tell people the activities my wife and I are involved in, they say, “You’re not retired!”  I tell them the difference between now and when I was working full-time is that I can say “No!” much more easily.  I’m busy, but doing mostly the things I want to do.

For most of us this is a time of year when it’s easy to get frazzled and run out of patience.  We’re afraid if we get too involved in one activity we’ll run out of time, and Christmas will arrive without us completing all the preparations we need to make.  We know we put most of the pressure on ourselves, but that doesn’t change things.  We spend the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas (if not several weeks before) in overdrive, trying to make the celebration as perfect as we can. 

Would our families be upset if that last string of lights didn’t get put up on the front porch, or there were only ten dozen Christmas cookies instead of twelve dozen?  Maybe so, but they’d get over it, and Christmas would still be Christmas.

During what usually turns out to be the busiest time of the year, we need to hear the words God spoke through Isaiah.  True, the circumstances were different.  Judah had been in captivity so long that many of the people had never seen their homeland.  They were despondent, discouraged, believing they would never see Jerusalem again.  Isaiah wants them to remember that God is the Everlasting God, the Creator, the One who does not grow weary and faint.  The strongest of mortals will, at some time, become frazzled, but God never will.

When Isaiah speaks of people renewing their strength, and flying like eagles, he is referring to the captives returning to Judah.  But it’s a good reminder for all of us at this time of year.  Put off wrapping the presents, or baking the cookies, or stringing the lights for a few minutes.  Instead, use that time to wait on the Lord, and renew your strength.  Your Christmas celebration will be more complete—and more enjoyable for it.