Advent: Hurry up and Wait

I seem to have this continuous feeling that I'm forgetting something.  Perhaps it's only because I have far too much on my mind, but I hope it's not truly justified.  That being said, I'm really trying to take the wonderful moments that come my way at their full value.  Tonight my youth group had our Advent/Christmas party.  As usual, these wonderful kids can always brighten a bad day (not that it was one) and make me laugh.  We did a few relays to get some energy out and some cooperation and teamwork in.  We spent some time doing our Christmas ABCs where each of the 6 teams had to come up with a word or phrase for each letter of the alphabet and duplicates didn't count!  We had some that were a bit of a stretch (I've never heard any story about a Christmas zebra...) but the creativity was great.  We ended with a gift exchange.

All these gifts were brought by the youth, then traded and the wrapping ripped to shreds.  It was fun to play and watch them open it all.

Every single gift is still sitting in our youth room, long after the young people have left.

All the gifts are waiting for me to take them to their final home.  They are all gifts for infants born to teenage and homeless mothers in our area.  The kids voted and decided for themselves that these babies that we'll never meet are more in need of our love and care than we need to have another cutesy thing to take home.  So all these onsies, hundreds of diapers and wipes, toys, blankets, and future stuffed best friends will travel to their forever homes in the next few days.

In the mean time, I'll be awaiting more deliveries.  This time of socks, deodorant, shaving products, and some festive candy canes that some of these same students will spend about 4 hours handing out along with a free, hearty meal to about 250 homeless neighbors in the area near our church.

I'm so proud of my kids, and the hearts they have to serve. I love how easily they are persuaded to give up their own time and comforts to dedicate to others.

These are some of my favorite moments.

Another significant moment arrived last Sunday.  Going through this process of preparing to jump into the unknown is its own life changing experience, although I'm sure many more world-view-shifting moments are ahead of me.  But for this day, here's what really struck me from the second reading from 2 Peter 3:

"Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation."

There is much ahead to prepare for, and it will surely come in due time, but what am I doing in the midst of the waiting?  I find I'm often living it in a state of anxiety and frantic preparations.  While I know full well I can't quickly change my innate nature and reactions, I will spend more time this season of Advent learning to appreciate the experience of patient waiting.  Clearly, this is only the beginning of my waiting journey.