Seventeenth day of Advent: signs
December 16, 2014 § 2 Comments
I read that Advent is about waiting in the presence of God, and then looking for signs.
I’m not one to look for signs. Or rather, I want to be one who looks for signs, but as soon as I see something that might be a sign, the small hard voice in my head says, “Puh-lease. There are no such things as signs. Only meaningless garble you organize into signs for your own purpose.”
Sometimes, I think the hard voice is correct.
Is there room in my 21st century life for signs?
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I think about the star of Bethlehem. I think about the Magi who say, “We saw his star in the east and have come.”
I think about the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. I think about the angel who says to the shepherds, “This will be a sign to you.”
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It was nothing, what happened to me last week. Just a fortuitous happening. Just that, the moment I gave up this thing I desire, an opportunity to have it appeared neatly to me, like a crisply wrapped present tied with a bow.
It was nothing, what happened to me this morning. Just an unplanned concurrence. Just that, a verse appeared to me in two minutes in two places I’d never looked before.
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In Advent, we actively wait for signs.
I’ll share the verse with you, because the verse itself is a sign, a promise, of provision and love:
“My eyes will watch over them for their good…I will build them up and not tear them down: I will plant them and not uproot them.”
Thank you, Lizzie. This was so timely for me.
So so glad to know this!