Wait! – 15″ x 28″ – magazine pages on panel – Advent, 2009
As most of you have probably experienced, there is a lot of waiting in life. We are part way through the season of Advent, a season of preparation and anticipation, which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Advent is considered the beginning of the liturgical year, and the very first thing we have to do in the year is to wait, and hear about other people who were waiting. The Israelites were waiting for a messiah, Mary was waiting to have her baby, Zacharias was waiting to get his voice back, the disciples were waiting for Jesus to come back, Paul was waiting for the young churches to stop bickering and get their spiritual lives together…
Sometimes we might feel like we spend most of our lives waiting. We might be waiting for Christmas, or to be done with school, or for better health, or an improved economy. We might be waiting for test results, or a raise, or a new living situation. Maybe we are waiting for God to do something in our lives, or maybe we are waiting to have more free time, or lose weight, or save up enough money to get the plumbing fixed.
One of the challenges in my life, especially recently, has been to figure out how to be present within the waiting. That was the seed of this piece of art; rather than looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, how can I learn to accept being in the middle of the journey, and find the light in the midst of waiting? If I’m able to stop and look around, and just be right where I am, I find that no matter how frustrating or scary or imperfect the situation, the Lord is present in it. And if I recognize that, I’m less likely to be focused only on what I’m waiting for, and I get more centered and content. How much of our lives is spent in a state of discontent!
It occurs to me that God is also waiting. Waiting, ever so patiently, for us to calm down, or shut up, or open the door, or relinquish control, or whatever each one of us needs to do to allow Him to continue the good work He has begun in us!