NathanJohnsonBlog.com: Advent Parking

Waiting dresses as anticipation in very different tones when the object of waiting is a who versus a what. Have you ever had to wait for some big event to begin? The waiting touches us more on the surface as our senses become acute to sights, sounds, and movement...but it does not usually touch us personally or deeply at the level of the heart...unless another dimension is touched. It is the dimension of contemplation. In October I flew down to Phoenix to attend my first ever U2 concert. Prior to the show a friend of mine and I were stuck in traffic for over 2 hours covering a grand distance of 1 mile! The anticipation turned into a soured frustration as we participated in the worst event bottle-necking traffic flow and parking design on the planet. I think if a group of penguins were flown in to manage the event they would have done a smashing job compared to this event staff. I guess I was thankful they were not hired as air traffic control at the airport. We missed the opening act but did get to enjoy U2 work their magic...and the evening was salvaged...mostly. So as I stood in line after the concert to get an extremely overpriced T-Shirt, I began to think of the event. I felt distant and almost empty standing there in my shoes...and my new shirt. I was only getting the best the event could offer...I was only entertained. Unfortunately I did not get to sit down after the concert with Bono and have a Guinness...that would have made it better. Events offer only what their nature cannot encompass...the weight essence of connection to another...no matter how spectacular they are.

When was the last time you felt "the waiting" for someone whom you really like to be with? Did it feel different in your heart? My guess is that the conditions may not have been perfect; dry or rainy, day or night, cold or hot...but did you even notice? Probably not. You would probably even put up with penguins organizing the parking. My take is that in that anticipation there was more going on inside than outside. Have you ever stopped to ask why that experience? The interior flesh tones are almost like a song that moves slow and steady, good and true, like a deep moving river or maybe a crashing ocean wave! Then when you actually are with that person it seems like the conditions get better no matter what they were before. A snowy day becomes transcendent and wonderful as you watch the snow fall on each other, the trees above and street below...heck you might even go sledding. A rainy day creates puddles to be played in, colors of trees and rocks run deeper and true, and even the smell of the air changes to emit meaning like stories told from wise old men with leather skin. The difference here is that you take notice. You become more aware and the awareness grows like a concert of the senses cycling to a harmonious convergence...and all is well...come what may. The surface of the ordinary quickens and calls out for more with each breath of your heart. This very difference of the two waitings show us the way to more than we might think. Life is empty and drab without deep relationship experiencedd...the event is...well...just the shell on the surface.

Advent season is a time of waiting for Christ to come to us and live with us...it is not just an event. It is a time when we are waiting with others for our lover to set us free. If we are aware of this time and the one we are waiting for we become part of the story. We are all the wise man searching, waiting and walking in a long journey to see the Christ-child. We are all the shepherds surprised by the blast of light and love from the ordinary night of watching sheep. We are all Mary and Joseph asking for a place to wait for the CHrist and behold his face. We are all the prisoner in need of greater freedom and the brokenhearted that longs for deeper healing. How we see and what we are aware of this Christmas will determine the type of waiting we experience. Will we shop frantically and crank the busy agenda or will we stop and let a snowflake settle on our outstretched tongue and feel the cool breeze awaken our senses? Will we fret over measuring and mastering our finances like Ebeneezer or will we warm someone's heart with the cup of a generous overflow. Wait with me during Advent with wonder and childlike anticipation for the who not the what...and feel it all!