Where's the baby?

I going to say something that will probably offend you: IT'S NOT CHRISTMAS!  Technically, today is the last day of Advent.  So, where's the baby?  The baby is waiting for tomorrow. (Okay so maybe I'll fudge a bit and say that we can celebrate his birth tonight.)

So we wait.  The gift of waiting is not necessarily a gift that children receive.  Christmas Eve might be the longest day of the year for them.  It doesn't matter whether you open gifts on Christmas Eve or Day, waiting to open gifts is never easy, especially for children.

"But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer." Psalm 38:15 ESV

Waiting for the Lord to act is similar to a child waiting to open Christmas gifts.  We pray for God to heal a friend and we wait.  We pray for God to intervene in a broken relationship and we wait.  We pray for God to make the pain go away and we wait.

Today is about waiting but we don't have to wait for long.  Soon we'll sing the carols that begin the twelve days of celebrating God's intervention in our lives.  Until then, happy waiting!  God will appear in the manger.

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.

Hope Forever

Oregon Gardens, Silverton, Oregon

As long as the Oregon Gardens is in business (which hopefully will be for quite some time) these bronze statues of a boy and girl will endure.  I was captivated by these figures and took more pics of them from various angles.  Yet, the reality is that they may not stay here forever.

"O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore."  Psalm 131:3 ESV

Unlike these statues, as long as this world spins there will be hope.  The hope we have in Christ transcends the uncertainty of worldly hope.  "I hope it snows tomorrow."  "I hope I can sleep tonight."  "I hope the creek don't rise."  There is an air of uncertainty in each of these statements.

There is no air of uncertainty in the statement that Jesus Christ is going to return, that he is going to raise the dead, and that all things will be placed under his feet.  This is our hope.  And as long as the community of God's people exists in the here-and-now, there will be this unwavering hope in God's promised future.

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We've made it to the fourth Sunday in Advent.  In a few short days we'll be holding candles and singing Christmas carols to the praise of the one who has come for us.  We've walked through the season of Advent focusing our attention on love, peace, joy and hope.  I pray that we make these characteristics not just Advent thoughts but a lifetime journey.

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.