the One we've been waiting for

For those of you who know Matt and I, you will know that we are not the most patient people. We pray for patience frequently, and the Lord continues to give us lots of opportunities to obtain it! I'm a do-er, not a wait-er. Haitian culture is helping me with this. Haitians have a people-oriented, not task-oriented culture. This means that no matter what you are doing or carrying, where you are going, or what emergency you might have, it is vital that you greet every person you pass. Not just greet them, mind you, but ask how they are, ask how their spouse is, ask about their children, listen with interest to the entire response, answer the same questions yourself, and wish them a good day.

It often takes an entire day (or two!) of trying to get our blog to update, or to send an email. As I write, our clothes are all hanging in the backyard, and I will wait for them to dry. We are waiting until next Thursday for mail to come, and on Wednesday, we will wait an entire day to (hopefully) get some paperwork processed.

Little by little, God is teaching us to be patient, and to praise Him while we wait.
So when I think back to Abraham, to Ruth, David, Samuel, and the millions of others who lived in Old Testament times, I just CANNOT IMAGINE how they did it. Generation after generation after generation spent their entire lives waiting, not for internet or dry clothes or papers, but for THE Messiah. For hundreds and hundreds of years, peoples lives were defined by waiting for their Saviour to come, waiting for the Promised One.

Zacharias thrilled in the knowledge of His coming in the first chapter of Luke:

"And you, child, will be called
the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord
to prepare His ways;

To give to His people
the knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
with which the Sunrise from on high
will visit us,
To shine upon those who
sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet
into the way of peace."

When He came, He was not at all what they expected. They expected power, not weakness. But they got not a ruggedly handsome king, or a magnificent war hero, but a baby. He was so unexpected, in fact, that they nailed the One they'd been waiting for to a cross on a day like today many years ago.

And in this weakness, He gave us "the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of our sins."

We don't have to wait for that! Not for one moment.

The One the world is waiting for, generation after generation, continent after continent, has already come! What a glorious thought! This Easter, we cannot WAIT to share it...

(pictured: vibrant signs of new life found around our home)