…there was a priest named Zechariah… His wife was…Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. – Luke 1:5-6

It is the purified remnant of faithful people who are waiting. Elizabeth, Zechariah, Mary, Simeon, and Anna are the representatives of that remnant. They have been able to wait, to be attentive, and to live in expectation. (Finding My Way Home, 95-96).

It is unfortunate paradox that oftentimes when we get the busiest, the most distracted and sometimes the grouchiest – in other words, the times when we need God’s grace the most — we also find ourselves forgetting to pray. “There’s too much to do!” So we rationalize not giving attention to the one relationship that can make sense out of all this busyness.

In these last days before Christmas, what is your attitude here near the end of Advent? Have you carved out some time and mental space to attentively wait for the coming of the Lord? If we put this first, maybe we’ll be a little more patient, a little more loving in the days ahead. And all the things that still need to get done? Maybe we can trust grace to help us do the things that have to get done and not worry about the things that don’t.

PRAYER – Lord, I place my trust in you. Give me the wisdom to understand how best to respond to your movements of grace this week. Amen!