Waiting in Advent for Jesus and Your Prodigal with Judy Lewis, episode 161

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If you love a prodigal, you can discover help and hope for your wilderness journey right

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here at the When You Love a Prodigal podcast and also help and hope for your own life journey.

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So my wonderful listeners, I have a very special guest today.

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Her name's also Judy.

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This is Judy Lewis.

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Judy and I have known each other for many, many years and she has been on staff with

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crew for 33 years.

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My husband and I helped her and her husband get together.

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So we got that special connection.

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She also was an editor of the Worldwide Challenge Magazine, which I had the privilege of starting

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and editing for seven years, I think.

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Before I had babies, I couldn't do both full-time jobs.

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And so Judy is living in Atlanta and she has a master's degree in spiritual direction

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and formation and she's with her wonderful husband up and their puppy, Biscuit.

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And so Judy, welcome to When You Love a Prodigal.

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Thank you for having me.

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I'm delighted to be with you any moment I can get with you as a guest.

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So good to be with you.

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Well, I'm like, why didn't I think of having Judy earlier?

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So Judy also has some experience with Prodigals.

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So as she understands our heart and the pain that we go through.

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So here's what we're going to do.

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I'm sure you were confused maybe by the title of Waiting in Advent, but it seems like the

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perfect time and God knew that for us to talk about this and the whole reality of what Advent

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is.

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And then turn that to help us see how this is helpful with our life with our protocols

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or our life without our protocols in many cases because they disappeared from us.

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So Judy, we're going to talk about waiting.

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Now I, you know, I've waited a lot.

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I write about it.

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I know your story.

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And you've waited a lot.

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And right now, most people listening to this podcast are in a waiting time.

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And so why don't we start with Advent and how that is about waiting?

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Yeah.

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Let me let you go with that.

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Advent is an in between season, a threshold season, right?

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Where a promise has been made, but the gift has not been completely received.

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And so when we live the Christian calendar, Advent is the season of waiting.

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It's the season of expectancy.

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It's the season of hope, but it's also a really fragile season because like Holy Saturday,

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between death and resurrection, we are pretty powerless.

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We don't get to decide what's going to be resurrected.

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And so we live in this liminal space, liminal, L-I-M-I-N-A-L, which means threshold, right?

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And the scripture is full of threshold moments.

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That being one of the biggest, the wilderness, which you talk about.

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That is a liminal waiting space.

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Holy Saturday, which I mentioned, the belly of the whale, right?

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The scriptures give us lots of opportunities to practice waiting if we pay attention.

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Well, it's certainly not, I would say, anyone's favorite thing.

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Even when you're waiting for something wonderful, like the birth of a child or to get married

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or moving to a new place or getting a new job, those are waiting always involve some

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because of preparation.

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And those are more you have a sense of when they're going to happen.

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And that you actually have a say in it.

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In reality, you don't really.

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God does.

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And so, but these kinds of waiting, Advent and Holy Saturday and waiting in the whale,

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anything.

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And there are many, many times where God brings us to waiting.

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And so what can we learn from waiting that is about Advent and the fact we're waiting

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for the arrival of Jesus?

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Well, you said it, waiting is deeply uncomfortable.

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When we wait, especially for a prolonged time, we think we've met our capacity.

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I know for me, I got married at 43.

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And so after being a bridesmaid 18 times, going to 10s of hours.

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And then your friends become pregnant.

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And now you're going to baby showers and your season of hoping for motherhood is ending.

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It is so uncomfortable.

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It's so difficult to be hospitable to ourselves.

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And the church and the church, sadly, is not very hospitable to people who have been waiting

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for a really long time and suffering for a very long time.

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In our story, we've been estranged from a family member for a long time and people just

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stop asking.

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And that is so painful.

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So there's a lot of places where it's uncomfortable.

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Our communities of faith sometimes aren't very hospitable to our waiting.

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Our closest friends get impatient.

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And I think the worst part is we are not very hospitable to ourselves when we've waited

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a long time.

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Hope is a fragile thing.

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One writer defines Advent as a mystery of emptiness, of poverty, of limitation.

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And nobody is wanting to choose poverty, limitation, emptiness.

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And yet it is in those spaces that Jesus invites us to.

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The wilderness, I'm mixing a lot of my metaphors here.

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We need metaphors to define this space.

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The Israelites were chased into the wilderness.

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Posea was allured into the wilderness.

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And Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit.

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So we often think that wilderness times are punishments.

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We turn on ourselves.

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But in those three experiences, they were all led by Jesus, led by the Father.

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Yes.

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How do you think?

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How come?

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Where are you doing this to be?

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Of course, that's our first question.

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We join with the saints.

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How long, Lord?

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I know, am I waiting?

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I think when we've waited for a long time, it's natural to wonder, what have I done wrong?

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Is this some kind of punishment?

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I think it's Tim Keller who says, the worst things that have ever been said about ourselves

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are the things we say to ourselves.

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And so the longer we wait, the greater the temptation to turn on ourselves.

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And sometimes we contribute to what causes the waiting to have to happen.

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Like the woman who I just heard from, not this one, another one, who says, it's been

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12 years since we've heard anything from our prodigal.

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And they say, what did I do wrong?

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And they're always told, well, you didn't do it, it's their choice.

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Well, yes, it's their choice.

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But we may have contributed.

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I don't want to let us off the guilt thing because thinking we did nothing, it's all

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on them.

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Because the way we handle things could contribute.

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I know my son had so much pain in his life.

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And so the people who caused that pain had a part in that.

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And the fact that then we who had him had 15 years of waiting for him to decide he wanted

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a different life and he wanted to be somebody different than who he had been for these last

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years.

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It was his choice, the people he hung out with.

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But it was also those who hurt him.

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And so that's not where you were going, I know.

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But I just thought of it.

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We sometimes bring it on ourselves is what I'm saying.

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Yeah.

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I think we hold two things in tension as we wait, right?

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We ask the question, what does love require of us?

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And sometimes that means we make amends as best we're able, right?

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And then we also hold in tension a particular powerlessness.

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Absolutely.

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And that powerlessness is a form of poverty, right?

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But it's also a place where Jesus dwells.

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And I say that with great tenderness, not as a consolation prize, because he dwells

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on the outskirts with people who feel particularly alone, with people who feel as if other people

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don't understand.

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And the longer we wait, the harder it can become.

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One of the verses that has meant so much to me in my seasons of waiting is Eugene Peterson's

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translation of Romans 8, where he says, waiting does not diminish us any more than waiting

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diminishes a pregnant mother.

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We are enlarged in the waiting.

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We of course don't see what is enlarging us, but the longer we wait, the larger we become

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and the more joyful our expectancy.

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And what I think he's saying here is that we have a capacity that can grow in waiting

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that holds greater abundance of God's love.

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We wouldn't choose it.

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We don't choose the wilderness.

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We're led there.

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And in that place, we can hear God whisper, you are my beloved.

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I'm really struck by the fact that right before, I mean, there's two significant places of

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transition in Jesus's life.

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I mean, the first one is that is baptism, right?

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And it's one of the places in scripture where the Father breaks into space and time.

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And audibly, the audience hears, you are my beloved in whom I am well-pleased.

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I mean, what is the last word that Jesus hears from the Father before he is led into the

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spirit, led into the wilderness by the spirit to be tempted.

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You are my beloved.

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If we are going to go into enclosures of waiting, the tomb, the womb, the wilderness, this

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advent season, it's vital that we get quiet enough to hear what Jesus heard.

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You are my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased.

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You are my beloved daughter.

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I am well-pleased with you.

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Another one of those transitions was at the mount of transfiguration, right?

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I mean, the moment has come, the testing has come.

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He is turning his face towards the cross.

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And it seemed important that God the Father break into time and space again and audibly

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say, you are my beloved son.

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Nothing can touch you, but what I permit.

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And so that anchoring is vital for seasons of waiting and wilderness.

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Yes.

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You're making me think of times in my own life when God has come into something I'm struggling

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with.

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A waiting, it may be a not long waiting or it may be a very long waiting.

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And to see God enter into that, I had an experience when I was waiting on my husband, which was

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a long waiting of a relationship, of dating, of five years.

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And he had reasons from his past that he was not confident in the thought of marriage because

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of his dad's not good part in his growing up.

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And so everyone after about three years was saying to me, just give up, quit.

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And I was getting close to that.

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I said, all right.

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And I said, Lord, I'm done.

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I've waited long enough.

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And the Lord actually spoke to me now.

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I don't know how to say how that happens really.

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But he spoke to me, he says, Judy, don't quit.

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Keep on waiting.

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And I said, really?

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He said yes.

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But it's still two more years after that.

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It wasn't the next week or the next month that that waiting got to stop.

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And with the prodigal, I could tell a lot of stories there.

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That was a long, long waiting.

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But God did it suddenly.

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Well, I will tell you.

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So our son's grandfather had been the only, because he's adopted by us when he was almost

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10.

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And his grandfather had been the only man in his life, but it was in and out because

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his birth mother would take him.

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And then he'd be back with his grandparents.

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And his grandfather was very ill and was dying.

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And my husband and I, because he threatened suicide several times, that if his grandfather

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died, we really thought he was going to take his life and we wanted to figure out, how

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are we going to be there for him so that doesn't happen?

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He spent the last week of his grandfather's life right there with him talking to him.

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His grandfather was mostly not alert.

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He told him how important he'd been to him.

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What a treasure he'd been to him.

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I'm sure he didn't use the word treasure.

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And when his grandfather died, here's what he said, I'm going to make Papal proud.

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I'm going to become the man he believed I could become.

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And that was the turning point.

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That's when he changed and it took some time, but he changed from his prodigal choices.

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But he was waiting and we waited with fear.

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God did something wonderful and beautiful.

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I mean, that was a death and resurrection all in one room at one time, right?

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Yes.

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And that's what we wait for.

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What will God resurrect?

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And that's the invitation to powerlessness.

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That's the invitation to a greater capacity than we've ever known.

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Fulfilled hope.

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We have no guarantee of that fulfilled hope other than Jesus, what he's promised for each

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of us who belong to him.

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But with our prodigals, we have hope that God is working and we wait and wait and see

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what God is doing.

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But one, we may not live long enough to see it ourselves.

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They have free will and they get to choose and God may be pursuing and pursuing and they

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may still not.

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But God is working and he's pretty wise in how he does it.

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And so I know a story after story of a prodigal who turns around, who comes home.

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It's beautiful, but it's a hard journey.

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It's a hard journey.

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One of my favorite writers defines hope as the promise that God has not forgotten the

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recipe for manna.

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That's good.

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That's good.

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It ends because hope is fragile.

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It's so fragile and it's so daily without a promise of resurrection on our horizon.

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But what we can receive as a promise is that he's going to give us what we need day by

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day by day.

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And sometimes that means asking other people to hope for us.

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Yes.

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Yes.

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As I waited and dated unsuccessfully for a long time, there were long periods where

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I needed my friends to hope for me.

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It was just, it was too, it felt too risky.

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I felt like a fool.

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I felt like a fool to hope.

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And that's where we need our friends to keep us from becoming cynical and why we need to

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hear the whisper of God in our lives.

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While we need to practice being still enough, we just talked about pregnancy and gestation

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and so much.

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I've never been pregnant, but I know friends who have.

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And for long periods of time, we think nothing's happening.

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Right?

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That's just happening at all.

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And so after getting bigger and bigger.

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But for a little while, it probably doesn't feel like that.

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And you're kind of wondering if it's happening at all.

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And a writer I like Brian Zahn says that the ways of God are predominantly small and quiet.

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Small and quiet.

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The ways of God are about as loud as seed falling on the ground or bread rising in the

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oven.

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I mean, God's ways are like seed and yeast.

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We can't see it.

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We often are waiting and watching.

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And that's hardly ever what we want to do.

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Maybe if we were farmers, we would be so used to it.

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Because we knew about the seed takes time and we're waiting on that.

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But most of us aren't farmers.

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And so we're.

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We're bakers, right?

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We don't.

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I mean, maybe the sourdough craze is like helping people realize the role of yeast in growing.

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But we're not, you said it, we're not very practiced at waiting.

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We're not very comfortable with waiting.

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It feels a lot like lament.

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And we don't have a lot of practice with lament either.

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Which is too bad.

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Because lament is really a great way to be honest with God, which gives him permission

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to do the work in us.

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And one of the things about waiting that we don't like is that we're not in control.

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And we want it to happen now.

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And this way we've got the plan.

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And God says, I have a better plan.

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Yeah.

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It's not a fast one.

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The seeds have to grow.

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I love what you just said, though, about lament.

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You said honesty gives God permission to enter in.

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And I mean, if you think of the Psalms as Jesus' songbook, which they are, and that

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40% of the Psalms are Psalms of lament.

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Lament, yes.

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And I think less than 6% of our worship songs are songs of lament.

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We are not practiced at being honest, which is a great gift of yours that you've offered

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to so many of us, your authenticity, Judy.

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But this practice, I mean, think about that.

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When Jesus went to worship, 40% of the songs they sang were Psalms of lament.

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How long, oh Lord?

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I think the love offense is the WD-40, right?

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There's something about it that helps us meet God's gaze, which doesn't come any other way,

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but by being honest, giving God permission, like you said.

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Yeah.

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Giving God permission to do the work he's doing.

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And part of it is to do what we want him to do, which he may or may not do exactly what

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we want.

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He may give us the desire of our hearts in various weightings.

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But he's also equally wanting to do a work in us.

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And we really don't want that very much.

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It's like, just take care of your product, just take, bring me my husband, but don't

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do anything to me.

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But he's equally, equally committed to the work in us as to the work that we're asking

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him for.

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And waiting is one of his most tender tools.

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Tender is the right word, yes.

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I was tempted to use the word useful, but that's a little bit stripped of kindness.

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Yes.

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Yes.

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Tender tools.

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So we've already been saying this, but how do you take this, what we learn about Jesus,

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his waiting, our waiting for him to be born in Advent?

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One thing that makes me happy is I see a whole lot more tools, products, things that will

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help people go through Advent in an intentional way than I ever used to.

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They weren't there before.

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They probably were, but I didn't know them.

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But now they're everywhere.

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So I noticed that through.

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That helps us.

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But how do we then, when we're looking at protocols in our lives and the people listening

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to this podcast will range from they've just entered and they're panicked and they don't

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know what to do to people who've been in it for years.

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The ones I have the hardest time with are the ones who say it's been 15 or 20 years

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since we've heard from our child.

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We don't know, have a clue where they are.

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I know a man who, who managed to find out where his son was and went to him and his

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son actually let him come and they talked and it wasn't a real restoration yet, but

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it wasn't a great step that gave him hope.

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And I find if I can take my hope and offer it to the Lord, it gives him permission to

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work with it and do that work in me, even as he's working on this person that I love,

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that's our love sometimes.

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Yes.

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Well, I agree.

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I'm so grateful the church in our circle is offering more thoughts about Advent because

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Advent is a part of the Christian life.

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It is a part of how we grow this waiting season.

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We've talked about a few things that are helpful, finding hope holders, people who will hold

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hope for us when we can't, remembering that we are somehow enlarged in the waiting, that

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God whispers beloved to those who are tempted to give up and the role of lament of honesty.

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The second part of that translation from Romans 8, and I don't have it word for word, but

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it says something to the degree that when we find we can't wait any long, the spirit

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comes alongside us, making words from our aching groans and wordless sighs.

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The spirit is ever beside us, keeping us present before the Lord.

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That is a great comfort to me that when I have no words, I mean, in suffering, we don't

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really need a lot more words.

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It's still that helpful that the spirit knows what to do to keep us present before God.

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It's a really profound, practical, those don't always go together, profound and practical,

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but it's both help while we're on this journey that we can't control and bring to a conclusion.

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Yeah.

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And to remember that he has not forgotten the recipe for manna.

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He has not forgotten us.

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Or the one we're waiting for.

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His eye is on them as well.

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That's really true.

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So as you think about this season, knowing that protocols often make Christmas especially

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a very difficult time.

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Because of one, not being there, or two, being there and being disruptive or causing pain

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or, I mean, people with younger children are often just in tears because of their protocol.

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The older child really bringing her to the younger children by the way he or she acts.

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It's a very difficult time with the empty seat at the table or the no gifts.

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So all of those things help us once again think how does the spirit come and help us

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through that?

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Well, they offer this with great tenderness, again, that word, right?

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Because it really, really hurts.

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It does really, really hurt.

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And I believe that our scars matter to Jesus.

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He had them.

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He had them and he did not despise them.

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He has them in heaven.

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It seems important to him that he bring his scars with them even in a resurrected body.

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And so I offer the idea that it was not above Jesus to have scars and that it is in our

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scars that he tends to us.

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And so I just encourage those of us who are still waiting for that person to fill the

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empty chair to hold a particular kindness for the journey, a particular tenderness in the

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waiting.

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00:28:53,960 --> 00:29:01,400
And maybe that means letting some of the air out of the expectation of what a holiday can

386
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:06,600
be and making space for disappointment.

387
00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:14,920
I think paying attention to the gentle invitations that God offers in this season is really helpful.

388
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And that might mean acknowledging the role of beauty.

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Beauty is something that soothes.

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00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:33,520
I know in tremendous losses in my life, I would find myself picking up flowers at Publix.

391
00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:37,920
And I noticed that beauty was soothing me.

392
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So perhaps there's a gentle invitation to notice beauty because it is all around us

393
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during the holidays.

394
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There's the lights and the music.

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And while there's the ache, there's also beauty.

396
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So perhaps it's noticing the gentle invitations to see beauty, to smell beauty, to taste beauty,

397
00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:01,920
to allow it to be a part of the ache.

398
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:04,280
I like that.

399
00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:15,120
And it seems to me that some of the beauty that we could surround ourselves with is even

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the way we decorate our homes and to remind us of what Jesus means to us or just to make

401
00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:30,000
people feel that this is a special time that we have together.

402
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:34,880
And that is a part of the beauty that we add to it.

403
00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:40,000
And there could be a temptation to say, we're brokenhearted.

404
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:41,000
There's nothing.

405
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:42,800
We're not doing it.

406
00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:51,600
And instead to look for the ways to bring that beauty, to bring that tenderness, to bring

407
00:30:51,600 --> 00:31:02,080
the presence of Jesus into our homes, but into our minds and hearts, both minds matter,

408
00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:03,080
hearts matter.

409
00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:13,160
So I have about 25 or 30 nativity sets from around the world.

410
00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:17,760
When I would be, yeah, I was traveling a lot with my husband.

411
00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:23,240
And when we'd go places, if it was possible, I bought a nativity set.

412
00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,200
One of my favorites is from Mongolia.

413
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,080
No, it's from Kyrgyzstan, I think.

414
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:37,160
But it's a little yurt with little figures in felt that look like the people out on the

415
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:39,040
plains there.

416
00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,400
And it just, I love it.

417
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:42,960
I have other lovely ones.

418
00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:45,400
I have some that are kind of strange.

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They're meaningful to me, and I put them out with tenderness and gentleness because they

420
00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:58,760
remind me of the presence of God, the presence of Father, Son, and Spirit with me in this

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time.

422
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:08,480
And even in the hardest times when our son was causing a lot of hurt and pain for me in

423
00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:14,400
these years, because my husband moved to heaven two years ago, those things matter.

424
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:25,040
And if we have ways that we can connect to God in more tangible ways, that can help us

425
00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,160
through the holidays and the waiting.

426
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:29,160
I love that.

427
00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:31,120
I mean, you emphasize the role of beauty.

428
00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:39,440
You emphasize the role of tangible reminders, as well as the battle for our minds, the temptation

429
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:42,480
to compare our family to other families.

430
00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:45,040
Yes, there is that.

431
00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:48,880
Well, all of the things are perfect.

432
00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:49,880
I know.

433
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:50,880
They wouldn't say that.

434
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:54,240
Well, all of those things are amplified in the holidays, right?

435
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:55,800
Yes, they are.

436
00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:57,440
It's just so loud.

437
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:05,160
And the voice of the enemy is so loud that we need these enclosures of quiet, right,

438
00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:12,440
to get our bearings again and remember that we are not forgotten, that he is with us,

439
00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:17,480
that the Spirit is making prayers out of our wordless size and aching grounds, and that

440
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:19,840
you just mentioned the role of the Trinity.

441
00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:24,080
The Father and the Son and the Spirit are a circle of love.

442
00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:29,200
They're the original family, and we're invited to be embraced by them.

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00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:30,760
That is our true host.

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00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:39,080
I just picture the three of them standing there with wide open arms, welcoming us.

445
00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:45,600
Wow, if we could lift our eyes wherever we are, whosoever listening in the car, at home

446
00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:53,320
through tears, and lift their eyes to believe that we are embraced by the Father, Son, and

447
00:33:53,320 --> 00:34:02,160
Spirit and held and known, and tended to and cared for with their gentle presence, even

448
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:07,800
in the worst moment, something new can be born, right?

449
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:11,320
Yes, that's beautiful.

450
00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:17,960
Any last thoughts from you before I was going to ask you to pray for our listening?

451
00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:24,560
I think that the kingdom of God is found in the whispers and the tears.

452
00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:28,400
Oh, definitely in lots of tears.

453
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:36,040
That the tears somehow in God's economy give us a clearer view of who he is.

454
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:40,960
While we wouldn't choose it, it's a gift.

455
00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:49,960
Our tears give us a clearer view of the kingdom, a clearer view of what's important to God,

456
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:53,760
and in some how, it's worth it.

457
00:34:53,760 --> 00:35:04,000
He's a good God, and we can trust him, even if we don't see that clearly all the time.

458
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:08,000
So Judy, would you pray for our listeners, please?

459
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,640
Father, Son, and Spirit, we've been talking about you.

460
00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:20,640
We've been remembering that your love encircles us with great kindness and tenderness, that

461
00:35:20,640 --> 00:35:31,240
you whisper beloved in our seasons of waiting and wilderness, that you make prayers out of

462
00:35:31,240 --> 00:35:40,200
our wordless sighs and aching groans, that you have not forgotten the recipe for manna,

463
00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:50,360
that you hold our broken hearts together, that you do not despise your scars nor ours,

464
00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:59,600
but that something in that tender place you live, that we can find you as we wait the

465
00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:08,760
longer we wait, and that you grow our capacity to be with you, though it's so slow, though

466
00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:15,080
it's like seeds and yeast, we want to practice waiting well.

467
00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:23,680
Thank you that you give us a model for waiting well, not just a model, but your very presence.

468
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:30,400
You know what it means to be powerless as a baby, powerless on the cross, but that you

469
00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:38,320
join us in waiting to see what you will resurrect, and we can count on the fact that you will

470
00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:40,840
resurrect something.

471
00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:44,200
Give us eyes to wait and watch well.

472
00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:48,240
Ten to the hearts of my friends listening today.

473
00:36:48,240 --> 00:36:57,680
Be so near to them in this Christmas season, help them to hold the ache and the beauty

474
00:36:57,680 --> 00:36:58,920
at the same time.

475
00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:01,040
There's room for it all.

476
00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:04,840
Thank you that we are daughters and sons.

477
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:12,720
Someday you will make every sad story untrue, and until then, we long with all the saints

478
00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:16,320
who have cried out, how long, O Lord.

479
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:18,440
Make yourself known.

480
00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:19,440
Thank you, Jesus.

481
00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:20,440
Amen.

482
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:21,440
Amen.

483
00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:24,720
Thank you, Judy.

484
00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:28,520
Before we go, you're going to want to hear this, my listeners.

485
00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:32,160
Judy, you have a book coming out.

486
00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:33,160
That's right.

487
00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:34,660
That's right.

488
00:37:34,660 --> 00:37:35,660
Any day now.

489
00:37:35,660 --> 00:37:39,680
So hopefully before Christmas, the publisher is saying it's called...

490
00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:40,680
What is the name?

491
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:42,680
Yeah, it's called Exhailes.

492
00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:44,680
Say it again.

493
00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:47,120
Exhale, like to breathe out.

494
00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:48,120
Exhale.

495
00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:49,120
Exhale.

496
00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,960
I've been reading some of your exhale.

497
00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:52,960
Yeah.

498
00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:53,960
Thank you.

499
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:56,160
So that's exactly what it is.

500
00:37:56,160 --> 00:38:02,480
It's a series of emails that I've been writing, put into one book, about 50 essays with simple

501
00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:07,280
practices at each one to help us practice exhaling.

502
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:11,360
It'll be on Amazon and under Judy Nelson Lewis.

503
00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:12,360
Hopefully by Christmas.

504
00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:15,160
Thanks for giving me a chance to share that with you.

505
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,720
And we will also mention it in the show notes.

506
00:38:18,720 --> 00:38:23,960
And if you would like to be in the drawing to win, I think we'll give away three copies

507
00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:26,080
when they're available.

508
00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:27,080
Wonderful.

509
00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:31,640
And so if you'll look at the show notes, you'll see where you can say, put me in the

510
00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:34,680
drawing and we'll do that.

511
00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:39,800
You'll also find how you can connect with Judy at her website.

512
00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:45,200
And she does silent retreats and other retreats as well.

513
00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:53,640
And it's just a wonderful comforting helper on a hard journey or a not so hard journey.

514
00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:56,840
So check out the show notes.

515
00:38:56,840 --> 00:39:03,320
And remember, if you heard something that really spoke to you, write that down.

516
00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:07,200
Because if you're like me, it'll be gone in an hour.

517
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:11,280
If I don't write it down when God puts it on my heart.

518
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:13,040
So thank you, Judy.

519
00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:17,400
God bless you and God bless all of my listeners.

520
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:40,040
Merry Christmas, friends.