An Advent of Hope and Waiting

While looking online for some inspirational thoughts and prayers to mark this commencing season of Advent, I came across this wonderful site called Following the Star with beautiful reflections and readings. I will excerpt a few things, but I invite you to visit the site daily during this season:

www.followingthestar.org

Advent is traditionally a time for preparing and waiting for the Lord's birth. At the same time, it is a season that invites us to become more introspective and take stock of our own lives, making changes where necessary to create space within and without to be with the One our hearts prepare for.

"Hope. It is one of the many things that people of faith do best in the middle of winter. In the darkest of nights, the coldest of days, we hope still. We hope because we know God's story, one that finds its central event in the birth of a child.

As persons of faith...watch with expectation for the hope that is within you. Be still and know that God is at work in your world...

God of faith, hope and love,
fill me with your Spirit of patience.
I wait patiently for you today. Amen

Waiting is not easy for most of us to do. As people of faith, we know that waiting is central to our journey with God. Throughout history, the faithful have to patiently wait for the One whose sense of time is not the same as ours. Amidst our waiting, whether patiently or impatiently, we hear the reassuring words of hope from the Prophet Isaiah. For God words for those who wait."
(Brian Prior)

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