Ready, Get Set… WAIT!

Does it sound awkward?

Two weeks ago, I attended a seminar formation on vocation at Bacolod City. My attention was caught by an image of our Blessed Mother – Lady of Silent Waiting. It was then that I pondered on how our Blessed Mother waited for the mystery of God’s revelation. Mary waited to unfold the message of the Angel Gabriel, to develop the baby in her womb and to reveal the person of God through her son, Jesus.

Furthermore, December is the month to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But as early as September, we already hear Christmas songs and decorate our homes with Christmas symbols and lights. But for us Christians, the fullness joy comes in the quality of preparation. It is in this season of advent that we are reminded to ardently wait and prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ.

Nevertheless, is waiting still relevant in this modern time when productivity and efficiency become the integral part of life? With the adverse influence of the modern age conveniences, it’s easy to lose sight of the profound spiritual importance of the season of advent. We can get what we want in a tap of our smartphones and order our favorite items. We do not need to go to cinemas to watch our favorite movies and when hungry, we can order food right there in our door steps. So, why do we need to wait when we can have everything even with one snap of a finger?

As part of our human nature, we are prone to take matters in our hands. We want to be in control of everything and anything for immediate gratification. Nevertheless, we need to realize that life is full of waiting and without knowing it, in the process, there could be something that happened. I believe that there three important aspects of waiting:

First, the sacrament of waiting is a form of spiritual discipline that calls every believer to wait patiently on the Lord. This is the stance of a prayerful person. The more we patiently wait on the Lord in prayer, the more we build the attitude of acceptance, faith and persistence. In acceptance, God knows our needs than we do. In faith, the blessing of prayer has been clearly manifest to us. In persistence, we learned to be resilient in life and endure the challenges of life.

Second, God unceasingly calls us to wait and put our hope on Him. The word “wait”, in the original language includes the concept of hope. That is why waiting is also hoping. Waiting and hoping are bound together like the strands on the rope. Without trust and confidence in God, we won’t wait. This is basic in our Christian faith.

Lastly, most often the process of waiting is God’s purpose for us to mold our character into Christ-like. Remember, even Jesus knelt at the Garden of Gethsemane and patiently praying for the will of His Father. We too are invited to be like Him to allow God’s will and His ways to supersede over our own. We must actively surrender our life to God and humbly trust the plan in His mind. This surrendered life grows in waiting in humility for God’s plan is better than our own.

As a final point, this modern world demands us to be fast so that our life would be easy and convenient. But we must not lose the value of waiting for this season of advent is also a time to balance our life. In the process of waiting, there is something happening within us and that is… to be spiritually disciplined, hopeful and humble.

There is something happening while nothing is happening. God uses waiting to change us. (S. Leah Zozobrado, RVM)