<<<Back to the Advent Calendar
Advent and the Checkout Line
Greetings! We are on the 14th day of Advent. I had a good discussion with a clergy friend about the Advent meditations that I have been posting. He had remarked about what a good discipline it was. I agreed. I have no idea if anyone reading my musings is obtaining any benefit, I hope so. But I do know that I feel called to meditate on these topics and share what I am learning in the process.
I’ve noticed how I really have begun to see things from an Advert frame of mind. One of the things that I have noticed changing is my perception of time. In the past, the period from about Halloween to New Year’s Day sped by like a hummingbird. Zip! There it goes! It was gone. Lately, I have noticed a significant slowing in my perception of time. I am solidly walking through Advent.
With waiting being one of the key themes of this season, I want to share something amusing. I rarely venture from the anchorage. However, I went to get some provisions at Wally’s World. Long Lines. Lots of Waiting. I hate to wait and I realized how that really starts to color my thinking as I was standing in line. Suddenly, I found myself thinking about how the checkout line is a metaphor for waiting on the Lord. There are so many things we can do while we wait.
We can be irritated by others around us. We can be worried about our bank balance. We can notice how got the undeserving got the privilege of cutting in line. Or…Or… We can be grateful for the bounty that God places around us. We can think about what a blessing it is to be able to select groceries as compared to having to toil and till for them. We can be thankful for the support of the Holy Spirit and the grace we are given to work through challenges in our lives. I need help to stay in that mindset and I pray about this often.
Advent may be the season before Christmas; but it is also a mindset. We are after all, always waiting on the coming of the Lord. Even in the checkout line. And soon, very soon we are going to see the King. So, with this in mind, Dear Ones, here is Adrae Crouch, singing his composition, “Soon and Very Soon”. How fun would it be to have this tune playing as you are waiting in the checkout line? God will supply and give us the grace to reach the other side. Turn it up!
+The Anglican Anchoress