Advent is a time to set new beginnings

The one thing I like is that we are offered a new beginning.  In the church, the first Sunday of Advent is a new year for the church.  We are starting our process of waiting, of starting over.  This is so important because one of the virtues that is often forgotten in this day and age is the ability to wait. 

Technology is getting faster.  We are having more and more at our fingertips.  Children are starting to demand that they get what they want now.  But is is not only children, adults are not happy when they can not get what they want immediately.  Learning to be patient, and wait is one of the hardest virtue to learn.

With the beginning of advent we are blessed with so many different things.  First we are blessed with a new, fresh start.  That is why going to confession, is a perfect start to this new year.  We are starting new in the church, and starting new as a person is important.  God has give us the ability to start new.  Every time we receive the grace from confession, the feeling of everything we have done lifted off our shoulders, we are given the opportunity to start new.  Each year on December 31 we all set New Years Resolutions.  A way to guide us through the new year, and help us to improve our lives.  This is the same with the start of advent, we can use this time to set our course for the next year, and use it as a way to live a life that God wants us to live.

One of the lessons to learn during Advent is waiting.  This is not easy.  Look all around us, you have so much information at your fingertips.  If you want something, you purchase it.  If you don't have the money to purchase it, then use credit.  It is not often, if at all we have to wait for anything.  And in the rare instances that you do have to wait, it is usually painful, and overcoming of our spirit.  Learning how to wait.  Taking time away and seeing the blessing that comes with learning, and waiting is a great way to open our heart and soul to Jesus.

One of the most difficult lessons that we need to learn is how to live our lives to model God.  One of the ways to learn this is through learning how to wait.  To not want something instantly, but to see that sometimes, waiting is the best option.

My prayer in this Advent season is to learn to wait.  To understand that things do not have to be instant, but through the power of waiting I will come to see Jesus more fully, and learn to lead a life that God has planned for me