Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
~Psalm 25:4-5
How many sleeps?
How many sleeps until you come to visit?
How many sleeps until I go to school?
How many sleeps until Christmas?
How many sleeps until...
The number of sleeps between the present moment and the anticipated moment is how my 5-year old niece Lilianna marks her periods of waiting. Both big and small events are marked in this way and she keeps the countdown going from when it begins to when the time finally arrives.
The Advent season is its own period of waiting and there are a variety of ways for how to mark this time. This Advent devotion is one way, and perhaps you have others such as a wreath or a calendar or a paper chain.
As I ponder this season of waiting I invite us to wonder about what it is we might be waiting for. Are we waiting for Christmas? For family to gather, for celebrations to be had, for baby Jesus to be welcomed? Are we waiting for a prayer to be answered? For hope to be restored? For love to be made known? Are we waiting for all of creation to be made new?
As the psalmist waits for God, they do so wanting their waiting to be illuminated by God’s presence, for God to make known their ways, for God to lead and guide, and for God to share their truth. There is a reciprocal relationship in this waiting. There is acknowledgement of who God is and a prayer for what God might do for us. There is also trust that there will come a time both now and in the future where God’s promises will be fulfilled.
The psalmist lingers in the waiting. It is a daily waiting as much as it is a seasonal or lifetime period of waiting. We wait for the gifts of God for the people of God. As we wait though, God acts. Life still happens in between each sleep. God shows up sometimes in the places we expect and oftentimes in the places we don’t. God’s love and grace is all around us, calling out to us, inviting us in, filling us up, strengthening us, equipping and empowering us. In the midst of our waiting, remember God is always at the ready, loving you and this world.
Dear God, I wait for you. Help me to open myself to your presence and your power each and every day. Guide me as I strive to follow you. Gift me with your grace. Enable me to love your people as you love me. Watch over me as I sleep and as I rise. Bless me and keep me today and everyday. In Jesus name, Amen.
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