WAITING occupies a lot of our lives – for something good or bad; in hope; in fear; for the bus; on the bus; for our computer to start up; for the kettle to boil; for winter to be over and spring to come.

How we wait affects how the time passes. If we’re waiting for something bad to happen, the time can appear to fly by; whereas if we’re excitedly awaiting something good, the hands of the clock appear to crawl round.

We’re probably getting less good at waiting too. Things can happen so much quicker, so we demand they happen almost immediately.

Advent is a time when we practice waiting, longing for someone to come. We remind ourselves that we are all waiting for Our Lord to come again from heaven to save us.

We remember the waiting of Mary and Joseph and the people of Israel that first Christmas. We also await this Christmas for the Lord to be with us, in the joy of the celebration and the painful memories and experiences that for many of us are part and parcel of the season.

Will we be fed up with Christmas by the time it actually arrives, ready to tear down the decorations on Boxing Day? Or are we able to wait, patiently and openly for the Lord, to give him the opportunity to come in his own time, not ours? Come, Lord Jesus, come!