11/30/10

wait.

This morning in my advent devotion as I lit the candle and read the lesson for the 3rd day in advent I was overjoyed and hungry of what was told to me in Luke chapter 1. I desperately wanted to skip ahead to the birth, speed through the preparations but alas it is Advent and I shall wait. But.... Jesus is coming (He is already here) but there is such an urgency to having Him arrive, isn't there? I am so excited.

I will leave you with a quote I was left to ponder today:

“Just imagine what Mary was actually saying in the words, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord … let what you have said be done to me’ (Luke 1:38). She was saying, ‘I don’t know what this all means, but I trust that good things will happen.’ She trusted so deeply that her waiting was open to all possibilities. And she did not want to control them. She believed that when she listened carefully she could trust what was going to happen.

“To wait open-endedly is an enormously radical attitude toward life. So is to trust that something will happen to us that is far beyond our own imaginings. So, too, is giving up control over our future and letting God define our life, trusting that God molds us according to God’s love and not according to our fear. The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, trusting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our own imagination, fantasy, or prediction. That, indeed, is a very radical stance toward life in a world preoccupied with control.”

—Henri Nouwen

God bless each of you!

3 comments:

ElleBelle said...

oh!! I just love that: being molded according to God's love not our fear. Thank you for that!!

Nat Nat said...

I agree Elle. Believing and leaning on God's love rather than our fears will only allow us to take that step towards trusting and openly waiting for God. Something that I know I have to work on, to fully embrace and live in God's love.

Unknown said...

Wow. I wandered onto your blog by accident (no, by God) during a time of waiting on the Lord and seeking Him for direction. The quote you ended this post with is perfect. Thank you for being faithful to share what he's teaching you!