PHOTO: Mary van Balen
Be patient, brothers, until the Lords coming. Think of a farmer: how patiently he waits for the precious fruit of the ground until it has had the autumn rains and the spring rains! You too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lords coming will be soon. The Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates.James 5:7-8,9
The reading from this evenings Vespers speaks to my heart. While life seems to fly by the older one becomes, it can also seem to crawl along. Finding a job, for example, takes forever these days. Many things in life take time to unfold, and I try to hurry it along. That is not a good habit, I have discovered, but it is difficult to break.
I admire the trust of farmers. They put seed in their fields, do all they can do, but in the end, they wait for rains, warm days and nights, and the process of growth itself, to see what type of harvest the will carry in.
I am called to that trust, as well. Where will I live and work? How will my young adult children will find their ways? Will my books find a publisher? These and countless life challenges take time to be met and for the results to unfold.
We do our best; we do what we can; and then we wait. When the wait is long, the temptation is to, as the author of the reading above warns, to lose heart.
In dark winter nights, I light the candles in my Advent wreath, gaze at the warm flame, and remind myself of the generations of waiting that bore fruit. Remembering that harvests did come, that some struggles have been met and have been resolved in ways more positive than I might have imagined.
Advent is a time to wait. Let us pray for wisdom and hope so we might persevere.
©2010 Mary van Balen
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