Happy Advent...How many sleeps until...?

 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. 

The First 3.1

The Color Run is marketed as “the happiest 5K on the planet” and it only has two rules: begin the race wearing all white and finish covered in color. It was all that and more. 

For the six or so years before that July morning, I was what I call a sporadic runner. I would go through phases where I would run consistently and then I wouldn’t for months. I can’t remember my first run or why I decided I would try it out, but somewhere along the way of balancing school and work, family and friends, I added running to my life. There aren’t that many memories, but  I can bring to mind an occasional run if I try really hard. There was an early morning track run in the rain, the day I tried to run in the Australian heat after a long day of student teaching, and the first time I ran from my grandmother’s house in my hometown. I also can remember long periods of time where there was no running at all. 

Eventually, though, my running increased. Again, I’m not sure when and I’m not sure why. I joined a gym during my internship year and that is where I slowly became a little more consistent. I found myself frequently running on the treadmill. I was working on getting a little faster, going a little further, and I got to the point where I was even feeling confident in my progress and I kept at it. I wasn’t running far. I definitely wasn’t running fast. I didn’t even call myself a runner. 

But then, I decided the time had come. It was time to think about a race and to begin to make a plan. The Color Run was what energized me to commit. It was low stakes. It was friendly to beginners. It wasn’t even timed. It was meant to be fun. And I decided it should be a family affair. I had a few others in my family who had been getting active in their own ways and so it made sense that we would do this together. 

Deciding to sign-up for my very first race was the easy part. Getting to the start line and then on to the finish, would take some work. A couch to 5K training plan became my friend. I downloaded a free app on my phone and with a few runs each week, I got to it. Over the course of a couple of months, I ran and walked, eventually running more than I walked, eventually running without walking at all. 

My race goal was to run the whole 3.1 miles, which I did, but a few other things didn’t quite go as planned. On the morning of the race, I got up early to have a good breakfast and to drink plenty of water. I wanted to be sure I was properly nourished and hydrated. I didn’t wear my race shirt (starting a habit I still have today), but I did wear a white t-shirt. I also wore old shorts and shoes so as to not have to worry about colored powder staining anything good. When I was picked up to head downtown to the race, I was feeling ready. And I was excited. 

A family photo was taken right before the start.  Five of us showed up at the start line together. But only two of us stayed together from beginning to end. My cousin and I ran the whole course side by side. Along the route, I got a little thirsty and I was grateful that I had decided to bring a water bottle along after all. As I took one drink, my body immediately reacted by sending a signal from my bladder to my brain. I needed to pee. But I was running a race. I kept moving, trying to focus on getting to the finish, when my mind was overtaken. I started to pee. But I kept running. I’m not sure how many seconds passed as my bladder released itself and sent warm liquid running down my legs and into my shoes all while I kept my legs moving forward. 

I just kept running and finally finished. I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face having run the whole thing. I didn't have a smartwatch back then, but I did have a watch with a stopwatch feature that I used. I don’t remember the time, but I remember being pleased. We found the others and took another photo capturing all our color and our accomplishment. Following the race we went to brunch, another habit that continues to today. Between ordering and our food and drink arriving, each of us took turns using the one-stall bathroom to change our clothes. After we were all cleaned up and I was dry, I told my story. I told them about the time I peed myself while running my very first race. 

This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Novel".