Advent

As we have entered the Advent season I have started to reflect on its meaning quite a bit.  Just thinking about what advent means: to be expectantly waiting.  When we consider the Christmas season it is a time when we celebrate the expectant waiting of the birth of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.  So we retell the story of the events that happened as his arrival drew near.  We hear of Elizabeth  and Zachariah, and the promise of the birth of a son who will make ready a people for the Lord.  Then Mary being visited by an angel with the good news that she will give birth to the Savior as a virgin.  And then there is the journey or Mary and Joseph heading to Bethlehem.  I can only imagine their thoughts as they came closer every day to the city and the birth of their son who would be the Savior of the world.  And then it was time and the one they had been waiting for, not only for those nine months of pregnancy but since the first Old Testament reference to their being a Savior, entered this world.  So we celebrate that waiting and  God's faithfulness and grace as he humbly entered this world as a baby in a manger to save us from our sin one day in His perfect timing by dieing on the cross.  Wow.... God is good....

Even as we celebrate though this fulfillment of promise and the end of that waiting, I find myself in my own advent season.  I'm still waiting to get on campus and start working with students.  I see God working and it is very clear that this is what I called to do but I'm not there yet.  I see the donations coming in, surely but slowly.  I see clearly that my heart is with the IV students even though I do enjoy the work I'm doing right now with the After School Program at Circle Urban Ministries.  I'm reminded of the one night I spent being a part of the leadership selection committee back in November for AU's next leadership team and small group leaders.  It felt so natural for me to be there.  I came out of their so energized and excited.  I had started to forget just how much I loved what I will be doing.  That was definitely a God thing, as He reminded me that He has not forgotten my heart for those students and I will get there.... in His time.  So I feel like I am on that journey like Jospeh and Mary.  I know I'm going to get there but I don't know when.  I'm getting close and now I'm starting to get antsy.  I'm up to about 46% of my budget raised and I need to be at 70% to start working on campus.  I'm so close but it seems like like I'm moving so slow.  It seems like I'm stuck in this waiting season, this advent, but I know God is faithful and His plans are far greater and better than my own.  So I must wait, and be patient, as God works in His time to prepare me on this journey to be ready when I reach my destination. 

Though I need to wait on God's timing to get me there, I still need to do my part to get prepared.  That part is fund raising.  I need to keep asking people to join my support team, nurture the donor relationships I do have, and continue to work on building new networks to partner with in this ministry.  It seems simple enough but is hard to stay committed to.  It has been hard to work on as I've had this other job, since I do need money to survive.  I need to make sure I'm not neglecting this important task I have to do as I wait to get on campus.  So I think I've been slacking and now I need to get back into the swing of what it will take to get me on campus.  I need to go boldly into fund raising and not back down.  So I will celebrate this Christmas with a new respect for the meaning of Advent and also in thanking God for using my own season of advent to remind me what it means.

The thought of being able to serve each one of these amazing students is enough to get me back on track with fund raising.

(If you would like to help me get on campus and partner with me in ministering to the college students, please follow this link to join my financial partners: https://donate.intervarsity.org/support/Anne_Miller)