He’s just unloading.
Surprise, surprise the babies taught me something else this week. (They teach me something everyday but I thought this incident would be a good reminder for the current season of advent we are in.) One thing about me, is I try to get those kiddos OUT of the house for a little bit or else we all go crazy. We have it down to a smooth routine. I get to them at 9, we load up pretty much immediately on most days and we hit the road for a field trip, which is usually the Life and Science Museum for Children. There aren’t many variables to this. No matter if I have one kid or three, I will always have to load the toddler, then the diaper bag, then the stroller, and we’re golden. The same happens in reverse once we arrive. Human’s are creatures of habit and the babies are no exception to this, they know the drill each time I walk in the door. This past week though, in the middle of doing our loading/unloading routine that we can do blindfolded, I get out of the car to walk around and get the stroller. As I walk around the car, I hear the child screaming bloody murder out of fear. (This toddler is a screecher, IYKYK, so I am no stranger to her screaming or screeching at me at other times but I could sense the genuine fear in her little voice.) I quickly open the back and she stops with relief to see me. I look at her, cradle her face and say “When have I ever abandoned you? You will not be left behind.”
In that moment, I don’t even think I was talking to that little girl, I think the Lord was talking to the little girl in me. I vulnerably expressed a bit of my despair last week as we are settling well into the advent season. How the whole trademark of advent is the hope and anticipation of something-someone-coming. I think it’s really easy to allow the devil to twist this anticipation to anxiety that we’ve missed it. Whatever we were waiting to receive has come and gone. But the reality is, whatever the Lord has promised us is already ours. There is no way we could ever miss it. Rather, it’s about living in the knowledge that His promises will be fulfilled, about living in a way that is worthy of the gifts already given to you, even if you don’t necessarily have them in your grasp yet.
My least favorite advice or word of hope that many people pass on is “It will happen when you least expect it.” I’ve have heard this countless times and I think it’s the dumbest piece of “advice” ever. It may be true, a lot of gifts do come when we least expect it, but I don’t think this is helpful at all for anyone in a season of waiting. I’ve heard this phrase a lot mostly when it comes to dating, but it can really be applied to anything: your dream job, a house, a spouse, a child, an opportunity, a promotion, whatever it may be. I think this advice cultivates a spirit of obsession or deceit. I’ve seen many times in myself and others that in order to hurry the moment’s arrival, we try to trick ourselves and God with reverse psychology by telling Him “Okay God, I’m not expecting it, so go ahead a get a move on.” We’re lying to ourselves and we’re lying to God, and of course, He sees right through us. This ultimately leads to distrust in our Lord’s goodness, timing, and providence because we’re frustrated that He knows better and see’s past what we’re trying to convince Him of. Let’s take a look at our greatest tool for teaching, the Bible, for advice on what we should actually be doing as we wait:
Read:
Matthew 25:1-13
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Luke 12: 35-40
“Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Other Relevant verses:
2 Peter 3: 9–14
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out. Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire. But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
1 John 3: 3
“Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
James 5: 8
“You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
Matthew 24: 42-44
Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
From these, along with many other bible verses, it’s clear that the wait is not just some empty, numb, bitter wait, but one that requires preparation and expectancy. That is why the advice “It will happen when you least expect it” is not at at helpful in cultivating good fruit during our wait for the Lord. We are meant to be waiting alert, allowing ourselves to be purified and prepared in which ever season we are in so we can enter the next one in full joy and peace knowing not only were we ready for this, but we were made for this. We we’re meant to EXPECT.
So while that little babe screamed in fear that she’d be left in the car, the reality is I was literally just preparing the stroller to make her experience at the museum even better. I often feel like a screaming toddler in the back of the car, wondering if my Heavenly Father is ever going to just unbuckle me already! I have to remind myself that in my wait for different things He’s preparing all the details that will make for a wonderful adventure; He’s unloading the garbage out of the trunk that will hinder us from enjoying it fully. In the meantime I can sit-back in peace and expectancy that in an hour I don’t know but do expect, the Lord is going to take my hand and lead the way.
With Heart, Ellie