'Tis the Seasoning
Tis the season for waiting. And dare I say…with each passing year…waiting is depreciating in value.
Long ago waiting was simply apart of everyday life. People didn’t ride, they walked. People didn’t text, they wrote letters. There wasn’t a microwave or door-dash, one had to invest a significant amount of time to prepare a meal.
The practice of waiting was not seen as a waste, but rather the difference that made the welcome more worthy. The person who walked knew this as they sat to rest their feet. The person who wrote letters felt this as they held the response. The person who prepared a meal tasted this with every bite.
As we step deeper into the Christmas season, the season meant to celebrate the long awaited arrival of the most worthy King, I hope and pray that we not cast out the waiting we are called to endure. Whether it’s waiting in a line or recognizing a delayed delivery or sitting in a hospital waiting room…may we wait well and not waste this precious time. For it’s in this time often seen as “grueling” or “ridiculous” God is at work and we can either grow in the waiting or we can groan through it.
When we wait well we are seasoning whatever comes to pass and when we wait well with God…well that’s when seas are parted, rainbows touch the sky, and an infant’s arrival brings with it a Heavenly chorus. God does not need us to fulfill what He is already doing, but He gives us the chance to be in His story. We read about the miraculous events in the Bible where people, everyday people, got to stand as wittnesses and yet we have no idea what these individuals felt as they waited for the miracle. These aren’t simply shallow characters conjured into a storyline…no these were real people who felt real things. We spend 60 seconds reading one verse in the Bible, but how long did it take for Noah, Moses, David, Ruth, Daniel, and Mary to live out and experience those verses.
Since the beginning of time people have had to wait…but the ones we read about in the Bible…those people chose to wait well no matter what they faced. These people did not allow the pace of those around them to effect the “be still” God was calling them to. Their choice to wait with God did not allow the time to pass more quickly — that’s not the point — by them choosing to wait with God it allowed them to see His bigger picture and feel the peace that can only come from the Author of Life itself.
The people of Israel waited for 400 years for the Messiah.
How many lost hope during this time of waiting? How many became bitter? How many fell away from God?
Many. Many fell away. But not all.
We know the story and we know that a humble girl was seen by God as worthy to carry His beloved son. He looked at the heart of young Mary and knew that this one, she had waited well and would be able to wait well for a little longer.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Luke 2:10-20
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
I love that verse. Mary waited well and as a result the welcome, this end to the waiting, was seasoned perfectly with that of peace and joy.
Before writing this Reach, I had never actually looked up the definition for the word wait. It’s just one of those words used so frequently throughout life you assume it’s definition and don’t bother to look. Well…after looking up the word’s meaning, I quickly realized I had been going on society’s rendition rather than the proper meaning.
Wait / verb /
Definition: “to allow time to go by, especially while staying in one place without doing very much, until someone comes, until something that you are expecting happens or until you can do something”
Waiting is meant to be a peaceful discipline and yet it is rarely executed as such. I think the world would be a far better place if people simply learned how to wait, and wait well beside the Father. My friends, Jesus called His followers the salt of the earth — and any good chef will tell you — the best way to experience salt’s full flavor is to add it early during cooking, allowing it to properly distribute throughout the food. Salt requires time to be at its best. Are we willing to wait? Are we willing to allow time to go by? I hope that we will not only learn to wait well, but learn to love the waiting.
So I want to end this Reach with some fun…before next week’s Reach, I want to challenge you to do one or all of the following:
Take a walk with a loved one
Write a letter and mail it to someone who could really use a word of kindness
Prepare a meal for someone who’s not expecting it
And while you practice the beautiful art of waiting, remember to thank your Father in Heaven for His response to a waiting world 2000 years ago.
