Waiting: A Christmas Story

My Christmas began this year with a little blonde four-year-old meticulously creating a giant Christmas tree for his wall. His family had a special chart on the wall, to mark the days until Christmas. Each day, they added a Bible story leading them to Jesus.

Christmas really is about waiting. In spite of how much Christmas can be obscured by commercialism, it’s really interesting to see that a sort of cheapened reflection of the waiting—the eager, joyful, poignant anticipation of advent—is actually still present, even in the most commercialized Christmas.

This Christmas, I felt much anticipation. I was blessed to be able to be in the US with my family and friends . . . and I had been looking forward to this trip for a while! The 48 hours it took me to get from Tulear, Madagascar to Birmingham, Alabama seemed endless :)

And something else happened, something I have been waiting for since I was a little girl. A wonderful, Godly man, who I love, asked me to marry him! And I said yes! As my Malagasy friends from the south say, “Andriananahary mahay manao raha”—God knows how to do things! He works in wonderful ways, and I’m so thankful for how He's brought Brian into my life!

Now I’m back in Tulear, and so happy to be here! This is truly home. And I’m committed to waiting on the Lord in new ways this year. Yes, I’m waiting to be married . . . I still have a year in Tulear before I’ll return to the US. But that’s not what I mean. If I spend this year simply “waiting to be married”, I’ll be miserable and fruitless. No, I’m committed to waiting on the Lord:

waiting on Him to work in Brian’s and my relationship as we’re apart,

waiting on Him to deepen my precious relationships here, with my team and Malagasy friends,

waiting on Him to accomplish His plans for our work here,

waiting on His Word to make sense of all I see around me,

waiting on His Name for power and strength,

waiting on the help of His presence for every step of every day.

Pray that I will not rely on myself, or others, or even my plans, but will truly live in eager anticipation of and active dependence on Him!

“My soul waits in silence for God only; 

     from Him is my salvation. 

He only is my rock and my salvation, 

     my stronghold; 

I shall not be greatly shaken.” 

Psalm 62:1-2

“I pray to God—my life a prayer— 
      

     and wait for what he'll say and do. 
   

My life's on the line before God, my Lord, 
      

     waiting and watching till morning, 
      

     waiting and watching till morning.”

Psalm 130:5-6 (The Message)