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Viewpoint from Revd Canon Simon Ward 14/12/2018

Team Rector of Great Yarmouth

as published in the Yarmouth Mercury

So you’ve waited in all afternoon for the parcel to arrive. You knew it could arrive at any time between noon and 6pm and you’ve kept yourself busy at home and never out of earshot of the doorbell. The frustration grows as each hour passes and as you draw the curtains, the streetlights flicker and you realise you’ve spent the whole afternoon waiting. You only popped outside the backdoor to put the rubbish out and sort the bins but came back inside to find the card saying “sorry you were out when we tried to deliver your parcel”. So you run outside the door to see if the delivery van is there but it has vanished
 
It’s a story which many of us will recognise: when you spend time waiting for something and then miss the crucial moment. Like watching a dull football match on TV and yearning for it to spring into life only to pop out to make a cuppa and miss two goals. Our experience of waiting is generally grounded in the truth that we will only wait for those things which are worth waiting for. You would not have bothered staying in for something to arrive if it did not matter and you wouldn’t watch the dull football game unless you cared for the outcome
 
Very often we look at waiting as being a frustrating and unsatisfying activity. We see it as a time which inhibits us and stops us getting on. But this need not always be the case. While waiting for the parcel there are a thousand jobs which could be done around the house or ways in which we could be kind to ourselves. We can learn a lot through the experience of waiting
 
These days of December feel like a time of waiting. Children grow in their excitement and anticipation of Christmas Day arriving. Adults get busy preparing and waiting for the big day. Others may be waiting for the arrival of or visit to family and friends
 
Waiting is a feature of the Christian life. We wait on God. We wait to celebrate the birth of his Son at Christmas. We wait for an answer to our prayers. We wait to see our communities transformed and for ourselves to experience God’s goodness and mercy. Whatever we wait for the wait is worth it because we do not wait for something that does not matter. The waiting time is time for us to grow in faith, in service and in love
 
Whatever you may be waiting for at the moment, may you learn to wait well. May you grow through this time of waiting. And when the waiting is over may you enjoy the fullness of joy that is contained in the message of Christmas

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