“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”

-James 5v7-9 TNIV

As my wife, daughter, and I have been observing Advent, lighting the candle(s) have been a highlight for us. We plan to do it only on Sundays, the beginning of the week, but others choose differently (to each his own, right?). However, I’ve been finding that I have been anxious to light the next candle. But I have to wait. I can’t just jump ahead and light the next candle – it’s just not the proper way to do it! Otherwise, if I did so, I would have lit all of the candles already, and it wouldn’t even be Christmas yet.

I am anxious, but I have to wait patiently…and that’s the point, isn’t it?

Aren’t we waiting patiently for Christ to come again? We can’t just jump ahead in the story. We have to wait, and we have to wait patiently. We can’t make Christmas come any faster by lighting the candles, and we can’t make Christ come back any faster either. We must wait.

So, what can we do? Pray and pray patiently. Celebrate and celebrate patiently. Worship and worship patiently. Mourn and mourn patiently. Rejoice and rejoice patiently. Serve and serve patiently. Give and give patiently.

Wait and wait patiently.