A Season of Waiting

It's that time of year: coffee shops have their cute cups with snowflakes on them, pop artists releasing horrible renditions of Christmas songs, lines at the mall are ridiculous, planning to fly out to visit family is always a gamble (I'm from Denver), and music everywhere with lots of bells.  Yes, friends, it's December.  I'm not against the excitement of the season; I actually love the seasonal coffee drinks, and, yes, I am one of the crazy people who went Black Friday Shopping (on Black Friday).  Who are we kidding; it's almost a magical feel to this time of year.  We know something important is coming.  Whether that's cleaning the house for out of town guests, wrapping presents, or preparing our children for Santa or St. Nick, whatever your tradition, we instinctively feel that it's an important time.

Let's not miss the point of the season; Christmas isn't here yet.  For the shopping mother who has so much to get from the "wish list" before December 24, those words are almost comforting.  For the kids who are in school, those words sound almost like a funeral droll.  To the Catholic who loves purple, it means the Season of Advent is upon us.

Advent is another time of the year that prepares us for something greater.  Yes, Sweet Baby Jesus, 8 pound, six ounces newborn infant Jesus, is what we celebrate on Christmas...kind of.  We relate to the baby because, as women, we see the potential for life within ourselves.  We relate to the infant because, as humans, we're vulnerable, too.  We cry, too.  We eat, too.  We need to be cared for, too.  But that's not what Advent is all about.  Advent comes from the Latin Adventus, which means coming.  It translates from the Greek Parousia which means second coming.  These four weeks are another opportunity to renew our hearts for the Second Coming of Christ.  The Gospel at Mass yesterday from Matthew said it well, "Therefore, stay awake!  For you do not know on which day your Lord will come."  We cry in our Church pews during this season, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel! And ransom captive Israel!"  We cry for the season to be over because we see the light at the end of the tunnel, the excitement behind the fasting and crazy preparation.

Have you ever been around a woman who is around 8 months pregnant?  Most of the time, she is completely uncomfortable.  The baby is under her ribs.  The baby is sitting on her bladder.  The baby is moving around in her womb keeping her awake at night.  Stand is uncomfortable for her back because of the extra weight from the baby in her tummy.  Sitting is uncomfortable because it almost seems like there will never be enough room for her to share her body.  Laying down is uncomfortable.  Really, she can't get comfortable, and she's just ready for the bundle of joy to stop squirming inside of her and just be swaddled in her arms.  Imagine that the woman is carrying the Savior of your nation.  You know that that baby inside you is called "Emmanuel", that He's going to be "wonderful, counselor and the Prince of Peace."  Imagine the impatience we would experience knowing that this child is the One and only child who could ever save us.  "Baby, just come out so we can meet you!" you would cry on the social media of the time with your ever chaste husband, Joe, by your side.  You know, though, that in order for a child to be healthy, it must pass a certain amount of time inside your womb. In your heart, you feel restless with nesting, you feel completely unprepared for your child to be born, but you just want the baby in your arms today.  "What will it be like to give birth?  Will my baby cry all the time?  Will I be able to soothe my baby?  Will He struggle to eat at first?"  With these questions mounting, we must remember that there is still time to prepare and to relax.  We still have a time of waiting and patience before the Advent of our child.  Patience, waiting, preparing.  This is the liturgical season of advent.

Sometimes my life is like a romantic comedy.  Weird things always happen to me, and people are always asking me, "When are you going to get married?"  This is especially true when I stand in weddings; I've been in 9 so far, and have the great privilege of standing next to my best friend as her Maid of Honor in June.  It's beautiful to be such an integral part of the Sacrament of Matrimony.  Bridesmaids not only get to prepare through planning and doing fun things with the Bride, they also get to pray with and for the bride, we get to fast for her.  We get the honor of knowing her heart before the wedding.  That aside, it's a time to see parts of wedding masses that I love (there are rarely things I don't "like") and think about the Vocation to which the Lord has called me: marriage.  In my college household, there were eight of us.  Of the eight, five are married, one is engaged.  The two of us remaining unwed (the other happens to be my other best friend) have a Vocation to marriage, and we discuss this from time to time.  While it's unhealthy to dwell solely on the future, it's a beautiful opportunity to sit in patient waiting, asking the Lord for more grace to prepare my own heart for the Advent of my future spouse.  I find myself asking the Lord what parts of my heart are still in darkness that need His light to be ready to be a holy and chaste spouse for my own husband.  My best friend shared with me that her spiritual director told her, "We should never tire of asking the Lord for our spouse."  While my prayer is centered on Christ, I know that God created my heart for selfless love, and I ask Him to bring that my way at least once during my prayer time.  I do spend time with my roommates in Phoenix who are calling me to a greater holiness.  I do make time for daily prayer.  I do reach out to my sisters in Christ in different ways and work diligently at my beautiful job as a Coordinator of the New Evangelization, while writing and speaking on the side.  I enjoy many things because I have the time for them.  My single life now can be exhausted for the Lord, but that's not my ultimate Vocation; He's preparing me for something greater, something that will be for my greater sanctification.  This is a very real taste of my own Advent, my own season of preparation.

Each of our lives are filled with purification opportunities from the Lord.  What is He calling forth from the darkness of our hearts to the light today?