All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, no. Another pair of underwear, no. Another video toy, absolutely not. No, what I really need is when my computer or TV crashes, someone like Santa’s elf magically appears and connects me back online.
Last week, I am watching a program on our TV and instead of sound, I get this humming, thumping sound. Annoying to say the least. So I called Spectrum and customer service reboots the system, but again, no sound just this low humming, thumbing sound. If you go online and look for help, I learned that this happens all the time. It appears our machines are having a meltdown. Online, there are tutorials how to reboot, like simply unplug the TV, the tuner, the computer for 60 seconds and it will magically come back on. No this did not work.
Now I am coming unplugged. I have no patience, not knowing what to do to repair this technology. Interesting, I can help a neighbor get water back into her home, or assist my wife to rescue another abandoned kitten. I can help comfort and support a mother of three children whose husband was murdered this past week, but I don’t have a clue what dial to turn to get the darn audio to work on the TV.
So I scheduled an appointment with a tech to come to the house thinking that he most likely will say it’s not their problem, and I need to buy a new $1,000 TV. I didn’t sleep well that night and prayed for a miracle. The following morning, impatient and moody I went to work and on my way home I would fuss with the controls to try to repair. However, to my surprise and delight, the sound “just came back on.” That was a gift, but what was the lesson God was trying to teach me
God was teaching me the difference between worldly waiting and faith-filled waiting.
One of my good friend’s was recently diagnosed with a pulmonary condition that could eventually be life-threatening. After the initial diagnosis, he had to wait a month to see a specialist and get his many questions answered. Then there were numerous tests scheduled to determine the cause, severity, and subsequently, the treatment. Between each test, there was a waiting period before he received the results. He had to admit that those waiting periods were harder to go through than the medical tests! All in all, it took four months from diagnosis to beginning treatment.
During this time, he had several projects to complete, and one project in particular turned out to be quite a blessing. He had agreed to develop an Advent prayer service for his parish. As he prayed for inspiration, images of the very first Christmas and the faith-filled people of that time kept resonating with him. He was inspired by their trust in God’s promise of a Savior. They and their ancestors had lived in hope. Theirs was a faith-filled waiting. Their faith assured them that God’s promise was heartfelt and certain. Even when they doubted, God sent them people whose trust in God could bear fruit: the prophets, John the Baptist, Mary and Joseph. They trusted. They waited. They followed God’s will. They lived in hope for all of us. And their waiting bore fruit for all of us.
This insight of faith-filled waiting changed his perspective on his medical situation. He could see how those four months of waiting were a holy time given to him to accept his illness, educate himself about it, and share his anxiety and hope with others in his life. Most importantly, it gave him time to pray for a deeper faith and trust in God’s will. God was teaching him, as God had been teaching me, through the example of our spiritual ancestors, how to wait, not in our way—we get upset, grumpy, impatient, but in a faith-filled way. And just as the faith-filled waiting of the people of that first Christmas bore fruit, my lesson in faithful waiting also bore fruit. Waiting and hoping in faith has brought him and myself to a deeper trust in God and God’s will for me. It has freed me to accept this journey and to pray that it will bear fruit.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshone Friends on Christmas morning. Waiting in a worldly way can bring anxiety and fear. Faith-filled waiting bears the fruits of patience and peace. That’s my gift for all of you this Christmas morning, the gifts of patience and peace. May our waiting bring us closer to God. And may we continue to be blessed with faith-filled waiting throughout the new year.
