One Candle, for Now

It doesn't happen very often, but I occasionally have the urge to assemble a jigsaw puzzle.  I like bringing order to a Big Box o' Disordered Pieces, and find that the process sometimes helps bring order to disordered thoughts, too.  Puzzles often come together in sections -- the sky, perhaps, or an animal, or a section of red flowers.  Finishing sections builds anticipation of the moment when the last piece is put in place.

We had a Hanging of the Greens service at church this evening.  The process of decorating was mixed with explanations of symbolism and songs related to meanings.  The part that most caught my attention on this particular day was about the Advent wreath:

"Something is happening, and something more is still to come."

This morning, Parker lit the first of five candles in the Advent wreath because today is the first Sunday of Advent.  That one burning candle represents light of God coming into our world.  It is a reminder that, in the midst of what often seems so ordinary, God is at work.  He always has been.  Though we may not always see it, something is happening.

As the one candle burned brightly, the other four remained dark and cool.  Those are a reminder of what is yet to be.  We don't usually know quite what it will look like or how it will unfold, but we can be confident that God is already in it, that He is faithful to bring about good.  Whatever the future holds, we know that something more is still to come.

The season of Advent is not just the Pre-Christmas Season.  It is its own time, traditionally marked by a sense of longing expectancy, of not yet experiencing fulfillment of promise but waiting for it with faith and hope.  I choose in this time to celebrate what I see already happening, and to wait patiently for what is still to come.

-- Debi