This year has been entirely about waiting. When we reflect on what we are waiting for, most of us are united in this one hope: a simple return to normal. For many of us that means sharing a meal with family and friends, travelling, or greeting a stranger with a smile that is not hidden by a mask. Each of these things reminds us of our shared humanity, and we long to feel human again.

Prayer and reflection can help us feel human. One of the things the pandemic has brought some of us is quiet time, and there is no better time for us to reflect than when our worlds are silent. The pandemic has also brought many of us to our knees, and forced us to focus on the important things in our lives. Will we be honest about what is truly important during moments of quiet? I put this question to my Grade 6 students this week. Nearly all of the answers were: Faith, Family, Friends. This got me thinking about the faith that my students have in their God, in their parents, and in me as their teacher as they wait out this pandemic. Children are innocent, and in that innocence the truth is perhaps easier to see. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14).  I wonder if as adults, we too might catch a glimpse of that innocence in our waiting? Can we reach that state of quiet contemplation where we begin to trust  in our faith? And in that faith, will the truth be there? Waiting? 
 
My personal experience with waiting has been a tough one. God has humbled me many a time in my life as He forced me to wait. This past year, against the backdrop of a raging virus, chaos and uncertainty, God in His infinite wisdom brought me to the altar to say, “I do”. As I think back to all of the things that could have gone wrong on my wedding day, but didn’t, I realize that because my husband and I waited patiently and made God our focus, He revealed to us His truth.

What is your truth? This Advent, as the world is forced to be quiet, have you been able to find what is most important to you? Look to Jesus who is the Truth, the Way and the Light. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading (John 1.6-8, 19-28), John the Baptist forces us to focus on the light to come, the truth that is aching to find itself reflected in the mirror. This is Jesus. He wants you to wait patiently for Him, so He might reach out and touch you, flood your heart with hope, your path with light, your life with truth. Will you let Him?