Washing, Watching, and Waiting
(1 minute, 31 seconds)
We had company for the weekend, and this morning I’m washing sheets and re-preparing our guest room. Our next overnight company isn’t scheduled for another few weeks, but I like to be prepared. I have been known to spontaneously ask a new and needy acquaintance to join us for dinner and to bring their pillow, and so, per habit, I wash and wait expectantly.
As I lean over the queen bed to smooth sheets and bend to tuck in corners, my pup Phoebe watches from the doorway. At first she is standing and then she plops to a seat, watching me, taking in the scene before her.
I talk to her in the voice reserved for her sweet puppyhood alone. “No one is coming today, sweet girl.” She doesn’t blink, but follows my move to the other side of the bed with a fixed gaze. She appears skeptical, but surely that is me projecting. I address my pet by her pet name, “Our next company is coming in a few weeks, Phebes.” She impulsively lets out a low woof.
I look at her, slightly caught off guard. No way. She does NOT know what I am saying. Feeling coy, I straighten up from my bed-making-stoop and look at her, testing her comprehension. Her eyes are fixed on mine. I say in puppy sing-song, “Next time it will be family coming to visit.” Phoebe let out a booming bark, simultaneously spinning on her sheepadoodle hind legs, and bolted for the front door to greet the “guests,” the “someone,” the “family,” that, like me, she is already anticipating.
I know how long the wait is until the end of December, but Phoebe doesn’t. I wonder how long she will stand at the door and watch until she leaves her waiting place, forgetting that someone is coming.
Jesus said he is coming back for us. It’s good to remember this. Sometimes I recall that glorious promise and lift my chin to the sky in a posture of anticipation and expectation.
Advent is a perfect time to prepare our hearts for action and renew our waiting for Jesus.
Our pastor said last Sunday:
“On this, the 2nd Sunday of Advent, we look forward in hope to Christ’s return and we wait. We wait and we watch. For Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
Watching and waiting for our returning Savior: it might be good practice for our body, mind, and soul to, like Phoebe, run to the door occasionally and watch expectantly.