Waiting and Preparation

Three years ago, I was working in a different place, doing an entirely different job. My feeling at the time was that I should wait. I was in a time of waiting, with the feeling that an opporunity would come that I would need to pay attention to -- an opportunity that would mean leaving the job I was doing at the time.

And that's what happened.

But in that time of waiting, for what, I didn't know, I prepared. I organized samples in the lab with the goal of leaving them so that anyone could find them. I catalogued, and kept great notes. I did what I could, in that time of waiting, to prepare.

Today, I read an article by Bishop Woodie White. He asks how Christmas would be different if we didn't have Advent. He compares the idea of waiting and preparation. Preparation is active; waiting is passive.

Advent is waiting, but Advent is also preparation.