‘Wait with hope’

Dear Editor:

Many churches this past Sunday (Nov. 29) marked the beginning of Advent.

Advent means arrival – and Advent is a season of waiting for the arrival of Christmas and the birth of Jesus. In 2020, waiting for an arrival has taken on a new dimension, as we await an end of the COVID-19 crisis, as we wait for the arrival of a vaccine, as we await a return to “normal”.

Waiting is difficult. We want the thing we are waiting for to be here right now.

But in waiting there is hope. To wait is to hope that the thing we wait for will come, will occur. Once the hoped-for thing has arrived, we no longer hope for it, hope is no more. Hope is beautiful, full of anticipation and wonder. In our waiting we live in hope.

Waiting slows us down. In our waiting we have time to think, to reflect on the world, on our lives, on the things that are important. Waiting helps us, if we use the time wisely, to sort through our priorities, to reflect on the meanings of our lives, to discern the kind of people we want to be.

Waiting is not passive. To wait is to actively prepare for the thing we hope for. Think of a couple preparing for the birth of a child. To wait is prepare mentally and emotionally for the arrival of what we hope for. To begin to live now as though the hoped-for has arrived.

In this season of waiting, may we have the courage and the patience to wait with hope, to take time to reflect, to prepare well to welcome what we hope for.

Peter Bush, Fergus