Waiting

Hi,

Just returned my last paper for this term and 3 tests to go!
It's only two days to go before Christmas break... tired, but grateful for all the opportunities to learn and grow.

It seems like waiting is really ingrained in our faith.
We waited for the 1st Christmas quite long
and are again in waiting for the final redemption of all creation.
Anyone who has been pregnant (or with a pregnant woman) knows that waiting can be painful but worth it!
And waiting is preparation.
It just does something to us. Puts trust and patience to the test...
Please read the following text and try figure where it's taken from???

That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
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Friday 12/12 Christmas Caroling
5pm meet and prepare at church
6-9pm Go bless the community around us with a Christmas blessing!
If the weather looks like somethings coming down from the sky, bring umbrellas and warm clothes! Also, decorate yourself with something christmasy. And bring something to eat before we go out caroling.

Sunday 12/14
English Service 11-1pm
Christmas Caroling at Finnish Manor 2-3pm

Friday 12/19 Youth pre-Christmas party at Heiskanens in Langley!
(potluck style Christmas goodies)

Sunday 12/21 Whole Church Christmas Celebration
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Enjoy the wait!
Samuel