Sunday, March 26
Katharine Roller
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning—yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
Each year, the liturgical calendar gives us an opportunity to practice the art of holy waiting. Each Advent, we re-learn the art of joyful anticipation, knowing that Christ is coming soon, making our hearts and homes ready for his birth. For me, this past Advent was the most meaningful of my life: on the first Sunday of Advent, I found out that I am expecting a child.
This news was, itself, the culmination of almost a year of hopeful and prayerful waiting—and, in truth, many more years than that. During those years of sometimes painful waiting—particularly as friends started their families, and, meaning well, told me how lucky I was to have my independence and not be “burdened” by children—the greatest blessing was my deep certainty, strengthened through conversation with God in prayer, that God was calling me to the vocation of motherhood and would not let it slip from my grasp, even if God’s timetable didn’t look like the timetable of my friends and classmates. In his word, I had hope.
Now, I wait again: a different kind of waiting, one with a due date! I am still so much in need of God’s help, and the prayers of those around me—but if God wills it, the years of waiting will come to an end. No more watching for the morning: there will be a new day, bringing new challenges and, I am sure, new encounters with Christ.
I can’t wait.
Lord of long-awaited endings and of new beginnings, our hope is ever in you. Grant us patience and forbearance as we watch for the morning—and grant us also the wisdom to know when the time for waiting is over, and the courage to act when that moment comes. Amen.
Encounters With Christ 