Wait For It

5/5/09 It's already May. I look at that combination of punctuation and numbers and think, "Has it really been almost ten months? Has it really? Is it really that close to me going back? Is it really?" It's a strange mix of emotions that contains both elation and sadness. The mix also includes the anticipation I've had of the end plus surprise that it's really here.

Last Friday we watched an Amazing Facts sermon that was filmed awhile ago at Andrews University. In fact, the first time we watched one, I was psyched to see Pioneer Missionary Church and glimpses of friends who attend Andrews (yay for Carol Lopez!). Pastor Batchelor's sermon was on the 144,000 and on heaven--and it was very, very interesting. I was very blessed by it.

Well, when I wrote the first sentence of this blog post, I immediately thought of that sermon. Why? I may be wrong (since I'm still sorting through the thoughts), but I thought of it because I think that sometimes we approach the Second Coming the same way. Granted, we don't know the date of the Lord's coming, but we do anticipate it. (Well, at least, we should, anyway.) And I have a feeling that when it does happen, we will feel a mixture of emotions: joy, of course, at the fact that we've finally going home; sadness at the fact that some of our loved ones chose not to come (but that's what we have 1000 years to research); but I also think that part of us will think, "Is this really happening? It is. Wow! The world as we knew is over? It is. Wow!" Right now, though, we have to wait, like I have to wait until I leave Ebeye (even though I enjoy it here, I've grown so much). We have to wait for the Second Coming.

HOWEVER, that does not mean that the waiting isn't worth it. It is most definitely worth it! Waiting makes the departure that much sweeter. I haven't reached the time for my departure from Ebeye yet (that's still twenty-five days in the future), but I know that my family and friends are looking forward to seeing me, and I am looking forward to seeing them, and the time in between now and then will make it even better when we do finally meet.

It's the same thing with God. People seem to think--or, at least, act--that God isn't coming back, that He's decided to abandon us to whatever mess we're in and wait for us to destroy ourselves. That's not true--He's just waiting. He knows when He's coming back, even if we don't, and so we wait. It may look like He's not coming, or that He's delayed, but He's not. He's coming on His time, not ours. Plus, the experience we have while we wait make us stronger. Don't they? The waiting time allows for the bonds between us and the One we're waiting for to grow stronger, if we choose to strengthen them. The waiting is part of the experience that deepens our relationship with God.

After all, God says that "[t]hough it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry" (Habakkuk 2:3b). Yes, He was speaking of the vision that Habakkuk was writing down, but I'm pretty sure it applies here, too. He says, "Wait for it." He doesn't say how long we'll have to wait, just that we should wait for it. And I suppose that since He said it, we should listen. The time between now and when God does come back to take us home will only make it even better for us for when we finally meet face to face.

Just some random thoughts that the end of the year is bringing to my head, 'tis all.

More later.

Ashlee