Advent

As we write this, we are in the middle of Advent.  Advent is a time of anticipation, a time when we remember the long wait before the birth of our Savior.  Historically, this was a long period of silence before the song of an angel choir, a long, dark night before the Light of the World was born, and a lonely time of separation from God until He became one of us and made His home here with us. 

In our missionary journey we have also experienced a time of waiting; we are still in an advent of sorts.  We waited to come to Thailand, we have waited in silence (and are still waiting expectantly) to be able to communicate well in Thai.  We watch and wait as cultural understanding dawns.  We wait as strangers to be taken into newly budding friendships and and we wait for this new place to seem more like home. We are also waiting for the final member of our familty to arrive in Thailand for Christmas so we will all be under one roof—what a blessing!  (Update… Lydia has arrived!)

Our Advent has been both exciting and frustrating, full of hopeful possibility and exausting despondancy.  It has been a time of learning and listening, watching and waiting.  During our waiting times it has always been essential to remind ourselves of God’s truth.  We find this truth in His word.  He tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us, that we are His children, that we are called according His puropse, that He will provide for all of our needs, and that when we commit our way and our plans to Him, we will succeed.  God’s word assures us that diligence and hard work result in fruit or harvest, that He will make our paths straight and our way sure, that the Kingdom is His and He is building it, that He is already victorious over the enemy, that He wants to see us succeed in what He has called us to do, and that He will do immeasurably more than all that we can ever ask or imagine.  

Regardless of what our current circumstances seem or how we feel, God’s truth is our reality.  Jesus is that truth and He is our reality.  In this season I am reminded that He came to dwell with us.  When we couldn’t get to God, God came down.  When all we could see was darkness, the Light of the World entered into that darkness and defeated it.  When the reality we long for seemed so far away, Jesus brought the Kingdom to us.

Amazingly, just as hope, heaven, and home came down to us, God is little by little creating home here in Thailand for us.  He is revealing Himself and His kingdom to us, right here. We are beginning to see and understand how He is working here and how we might fit in to this piece of Kingdom work.  

We are amazed and so grateful that Jesus continues to come over and over again into our darkness and confusion, into our hopes and dreams, into our fears and frustrations, into the life that we’ve surrendered to Him.

I pray, this Advent season that as you remember the coming of Christ, you also take note of how Jesus comes into your every day, fulfilling your longings and redeeming each experience for His glory.  I pray that you will fully celebrate, with eyes wide with wonder, the Word made flesh, full of Grace and Truth and that your awareness of the presence of Christ will fill your heart with love, your soul with joy, and your mind with peace.

Merry Christmas!