It’s the beginning of Advent and we confess our anxiety.
Hope seems to have thin reins this year.
We want this season to be different, simple, meaningful.
But we have our doubts.
Though we admit we don’t yet feel joy or gladness, we refuse to shake the I told you so at our own soul.
Like Your people did for 400 years of silence, we wait.
We obey the calendar and wait, not with tapping foot and huffy breath. But we wait with open hands and willing hearts to experience the truth of the gospel in our everyday lives.
We will fight this year – not for meaning, for magic, for perfection, or even for simplicity.
Rather we will fight to remember You have come, You are here, and You will come again.
May we hear Your silence as kind company rather than as rejection.
May we see our sorrow, our grief, and our difficulties as they are without trying to extract meaning or closure before their time has come.
May we give sadness room to breathe even as we wait for the joy to come.
The world was broken and You could have sent a doctor, a soldier, or a king.
Instead, You sent a baby. You arrived small. You looked different than we thought You should look.
But still, You came!
Help us to remember that in Your kingdom, the answers we think we want don’t always show up in ways we expect.
Like the shepherds who followed a star to a stable, may we be willing to believe the unbelievable.
May we remember who we are in Your presence.
Our Doctor, our Soldier, our King came disguised as a baby.
May we behold the mystery of Your birth with resurrection eyes.
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Southern Gal says
November 30, 2015 at 12:19 PMAmen to all of it while we wait.
Lisa Hurley says
November 30, 2015 at 6:06 PMI do love these Monday prayers. I seem to need extra prayers on Mondays, especially this Monday where I’ve been feeling extra small. I wrote about Advent too today. Similar sentiment specifically for those with challenging circumstances. Lovely post, Emily.
Elaine says
November 30, 2015 at 7:02 PMThis nurtured my soul! Would love it on a graphic print! Thank you!
Amanda says
November 30, 2015 at 8:28 PMOh, Emily, I needed to hear this today. Thank you.
Dolly@Soulstops says
November 30, 2015 at 10:08 PMYes, Amen…Thanks, Emily 🙂
TJ says
November 30, 2015 at 10:37 PMJust what I needed to hear and pray as we start this Advent season.
Linda says
November 30, 2015 at 11:23 PMOh how this speaks to my heart, Emily. I am exactly in this place – and pressing in to hope as I wait.
Thank you.
Teresa L Hardymon says
November 30, 2015 at 11:57 PMThank you for this prayer. I think I’ll be reading it often this week, while I wait.
Rachel says
December 1, 2015 at 1:40 AMThis is a prayer to hold through advent . Love the longing simply to know His presence . Emmanuel . God with us . Thank you Emily .
Tessa says
December 1, 2015 at 3:51 AMOoh. This was for me. Thank you.
Beth Williams says
December 2, 2015 at 11:30 PMEmily,
Beautiful poem! I sit here in the dark with Christmas lights awaiting! This year I don’t feel joy or gladness, but a bit of sadness! I know hope will come!! God sent a baby–Jesus left the splendor of Heaven for us!! Hallelujah!!
Blessings 🙂
Caroline says
December 6, 2015 at 9:07 AMOh, yes, a prayer to hold through Advent….to hold “us”. Emily, thank you!!
Beth williams says
February 3, 2016 at 7:44 AMEmily,
It is past Advent and into the new year! I am waiting-again. Waiting to see what happens with my aging father. Waiting to see or know if I should work again. I don’t always wait patiently!
Help me to wait and know that He will come and answer my prayers!
Blessings 🙂
Dorina L Gilmore-Young says
December 23, 2016 at 1:22 AMSweet and weighty reminders, my friend. Joining you in these prayers!