While We Wait

A Devotional by Brandi Higgins

Waiting. Something that very few people, if any, enjoy doing; but something everyone must do. Sometimes the waiting is short lived; sometimes it seems to last an eternity. As we begin this Advent season, I am reminded of a devotional I read from Rachel Dodge that is a chapter-by-chapter companion to Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. If you have never read this book before, it is a wonderful story that is sweet and tender, comforting and seemingly familiar. As Dodge writes, “opening the first few pages of Little Women feels like stepping in the front door of the March home and joining the cozy family circle by the fire.”

Little Women begins with the young girls of the March family gathered around their mother’s chair as she reads a letter from the girls’ father; Mr. March is away fighting in a war. His letter is laden with love and longing for his family at home. He also gently reminds his family what is expected of them in his absence. The essence of what Mr. March pens is a wonderfully worded reminder of God’s parental love for all of us.

From Little Women; Mr. March’s letter:

“Give them all of my dear love and a kiss. Tell them I think of them by day,

pray for them by night, and find my best comfort in their affection at all

times. A year seems very long to wait before I see them, but remind them

that while we wait, we may all work so that these hard days need not

be wasted. I know they will remember all I have said to them, that they

will be loving children to you, will do their duty faithfully, fight their bosom

enemies bravely, and conquer themselves so beautifully that when I

come back to them I may be fonder and prouder than ever of my

little women.”

During this Advent season as we wait, let us refocus ourselves. What is God asking of us during this time of anticipation?

Let us seek to carry out our “duties faithfully.” Let us look inward as to “conquer ourselves beautifully.” And as a community of faith, let us work together to “fight our bosom enemies bravely”- the enemies of all humankind - injustice and poverty. Rachael Dodge reminds us, “No hard day is wasted when you watch and wait...share your faith with others, and love people well.”