Week 2 - Day Two

Story from Chris Reid

I miss my dad.

We had our last conversation on December 14, 2007, at a Christmas tree lot, of all places. We spent 45 minutes talking about everything and nothing, and I’ll treasure those moments forever. That night, he went home, put up their tree, went to sleep, and never woke up.

Even though it’s been many years now since he passed, I still feel a tinge of sadness during the Christmas season. Don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays. The lights, the parties, and the family get-togethers all bring their own unique brand of joy, but there’s also a lingering sense of loss.

Despite the missing pieces in each of our lives, we still have the chance to be made whole. The Savior’s arrival in Bethlehem is a new beginning, marked by a promise of peace that doesn’t discriminate. It’s for everyone.

Peace that doesn’t discriminate

Those struggling with the pain of loss, those in war-torn areas of the world, those grappling with addiction, and on and on.

There are no limits, His peace is complete.

But here’s the thing: the promise is not yet fulfilled. Fleming Rutledge, in her book on Advent, writes:

“The disappointment, brokenness, suffering, and pain that characterize life in this present world is held in dynamic tension with the promise of future glory that is yet to come… Advent contains within itself the crucial balance of the now and the not-yet that our faith requires.”

In the meantime, while working to balance the now and the not-yet, we wait with anticipation, celebrate imperfectly, and look expectantly to the day when the suffering of this present life ceases, and his perfect peace reigns supreme.

Oh, and I’ll see my dad again too. That’s a promise worth waiting for.