Advent, Tom Petty, and gluten

One of my favorite Tom Petty songs is “The Waiting Is The Hardest Part.”  He is so right! Like many others, the concept of Advent is fairly new to me. I love the focus on the anticipation of such a wonderful gift. It is especially meaningful to me this year as I am pregnant. I feel this baby kicking and see my belly expand and I can’t wait to meet her (but stay in there and finish growing, little girl).

            Advent is about hope and waiting. Waiting is so, so hard. It is hard to endure pregnancy and wait for my little one to develop.  I loved Caz’s calling on Sunday to learn how to be good at waiting.  We have to wait daily for small things and hard things, like for a child to choose shoes when we are late. We have to wait for big things, like answers to prayers. There is so much we must wait until heaven to experience. I personally won’t be able to have gluten until I get to heaven. Others have to wait to have whole bodies and reunite with dear ones. How do we get better at waiting? How do we learn to have more patience for others and for God?

            What are we missing by not learning to wait, and by giving up hope?  I am sure I am not the only one who has given up hope that God will answer certain prayers. I wonder how He feels about that. Join me in trying to navigate the territory of patience, and hope. Jesus is real. He is coming back, and He is worth waiting for.

Beth Kropf