The Psalms of Advent
Psalm 25:1-5
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
——
Waiting seems to be a metaphor in my life. As a child I waited to grow up, and sometimes felt like I was trapped in the facade of childlikeness though miles away in my mind contemplating the burdens of an adult world. As a teen I waited to find my place in the world eager for the next step, somehow certain that just over the horizon was a pot of "golden sense" waiting for me that would align all my mismatched stars and I would finally feel at home in this big, changing, and uncertain world.
As an adult I waited for the day I would feel like a grown-up; like that woman in that
magazine whose perfectly positioned coffee mug and matching mocha-toasted stilettos seemed to scream "I have it all figured out."
It's no surprise that I am still waiting.
Sometimes it's fun to pretend that I'm just waiting for the right shoes that will lead me on the path of discovery and certainty. That when I close my eyes in the dreams of night and slip them on, suddenly the stars will take me by the hand and illumine the path for tomorrow… where peace and justice reign and love abounds.
But when I am honest I am thankful that I am still waiting. Only in my “watchful waiting” do I dare to imagine what can be, and believe that one day the God of the stars and sun and moon will bring to fulfillment the salvation for which we wait all day long.
Prayer:
God of Creation, invite us to imagine ourselves as "watchful waiters", participants with all of your creation in filling the skies with the stars of your hope-filled promises to a world still waiting for salvation. Amen.
Spirit is leading the way,
Rev. Jenny Shultz-Thomas