November, Advent and Waiting
Reflections on the Eleventh Month of 2024
Do you ever feel like life is a series of disconnected moments—some thrilling, some mundane, and others difficult to endure? The good news is that what we perceive as random, God—in His wisdom—sees as preparation.
Advent reminds us of this truth. Advent is a season of waiting and expectation, where God works in the unseen to prepare hearts for His arrival. Through promises and exile, through despair and renewal, God wove every detail of world history to bring about Jesus’s birth. In the same way, He is actively shaping our lives through every experience, challenge, and blessing.
We are a wait-averse people. Same-day delivery, express lanes, and lightning-speed internet have conditioned us to resist waiting. Why? Because it is in waiting where things are most unclear. It is in waiting where defeat seems to overcome the possibility of hope. It is in waiting where we are most uncomfortable and unsettled.
Yet God uses waiting to build character, struggles to refine faith, and joy to remind us of His goodness. Every moment—whether purposeful or perplexing—is part of His plan to shape us for what lies ahead. He’s not just preparing the destination; He’s preparing your heart and hands to receive and steward the blessings He has for you.
This Advent, may we embrace patience in the waiting, hope in the longing, and trust in the One who is faithfully preparing us for what He has prepared for us.
Here’s a photo dump for the month:
What am I reading?
Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste
The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money is the Root of Racism and How the Church can Create a New Way Forward by Malcolm Foley
What am I watching?
Cross (Amazon Prime)
Shrinking (AppleTV)