We sat on the pew awaiting the service to begin. My husband commented that Advent blue was his favorite color of all the seasons. Our daughter agreed. Each church season means new banners hung upon the altar and in the sanctuary. My husband looked up at the banner directly in front of us. “What does esperanza mean in Spanish, Shelly?” He asked. “Hope,” I replied, ” which is interesting because in Spanish esperar means to wait and this morning I looked up the definition of hope as a reminder and it means a feeling of expectation. Expecting, waiting. ”
In the season of advent we begin the church calendar with our Great Expectation of the birth of our newborn Savior. Heaven comes down and takes the form of a baby. The King of the Universe and Creator takes on the limitations of a newborn child. As we enter this season we prepare our hearts as we wait.
What great expectation do you have?
What are you waiting for?
Healing for a loved one?
A phone call ….
For a job, provision?
Reconciliation?
Deliverance?
Waiting is often hard. There is a tension, but there is also hope. However, sometimes if we wait for a while, worry and doubt can seep in.
What can we do while we wait? We can prepare our hearts. And oft we find no matter the answer to the prayer, the real transformation happens as we wait.
I am waiting:
For healing for my brother from Ramsay Hunt Syndrome where the shingles virus has attacked the nerves in the left side of his face. I am researching, the doctors have him on meds, I am seeking any possible treatments to help promote healing and despite all my healthcare expertise one essential part of the healing process is time. So I pray and I wait. I pray for full resolution from the palsy and fully restored health. It is so hard to see your little brother with an ailment. No matter how old he is , he will always be my kid brother that I fought and played hard with but always felt an innate desire to protect.
I wait for healing for a friend in ICU with a severe case of COVID. Things had been grim but we see signs of hope and improvement so we still wait with expectation of some continued miraculous healing.
I wait for my Uncle in the hospital. He is having a cardiac angiogram (heart Cath) today. I am waiting for good news and healing from the procedure and resolution of his symptoms that led him there.
I am waiting for healing for my husband’s back, a minor flare from a lumbar strain that limits his movement.
I am waiting for a diagnosis, the discovery of the underlying cause of my teen daughter’s orthostatic hypotension. And of course we want healing from all that ails my precious girl.
I am hoping for healing for a loved one’s dad to overcome a type of blood cancer a second time.
I am waiting and as I wait I pray , Lord heal them but guide, lead, and teach me as I wait.
As I wait, I hope, trust and believe as hard as this waiting is that the wait has purpose. I believe in an intelligent Creator that is also a loving, compassionate Creator that loves His creation. This Creator gave us free will or else we would be robots and forced love is not love. This in our free will to choose, the world is impacted both positively and adversely. Thus enters the problem of pain, loss, illness, evil.
But I also believe, hope, trust and know that light has overcome the darkness, the good does overcome evil and that our Creator God uses all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Lord, we wait for you.
In anticipation and expectancy we hope for greater things that we can conceive.
Transform me in the waiting to look more like you.
Stabbing Windmills 