The Waiting. An Advent Reflection.
I remember waiting for our son to be born. Our first child.
We had been waiting a long time. There’s the 9 months of waiting. But there’s also the years before that. Hoping one day to be a father. To have a son. Waiting for just the right time to start a family.
And then the due date approaches. The doctors appointment confirms mom & baby are doing just fine. Then he announces that we need to check in the hospital tonight. Tomorrow morning, early, he’s going to induce.
We go & celebrate with a final meal & a milkshake. And then the waiting begins again.
It’s a long night. She gets an ambien. I didn’t sleep. Too many beeps & constant care by the nurses as they come in & out all night – for all of which I’m thankful. The doctor arrives early to start the process. And then the waiting begins again.
He doesn’t come quickly. As first time parents we’re having to learn already to be patient with our child who is already here but not yet here.
Lunch comes & goes. He’s not here yet.
People in the small lobby outside are waiting too. Hoping expectantly. We decided not to find out if our child was a boy or a girl. So no one knows, including us, what child is on the way.
Our nurse that is waiting on us hand & foot is convinced it’s a girl. And is constantly referring to the child in feminine terms. Something we laugh about now. The same nurse had also confused Alisha’s name & kept calling her Ashley. We didn’t have the heart to keep correcting her, so we let it go. It made us laugh in the moment. Something we needed to help with the stress, the worry, the unknown & the waiting.
I could have studied advent all my life & never knew waiting like this.
And here we are 10 days till Christmas. Most of us over concerned with whether or not all the gifts are bought & wrapped. If travel plans are all set & who’s bringing what food to the party.
But we’re only a few days away from the due date. Is the anticipation building? Are our hopes rising? Is our sense of expectation about to explode?
This is what it means to be waiting. Hoping. Expecting.
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9.6 (NLT)
Let’s be waiting. For our King has come. And He is coming!
