Celebrating family life | Seasonal Reflections
I have been thinking about how much time everyone spends waiting. We wait with various feelings, anticipation, apprehension, and sometimes impatience. We wait for news, for babies to be born, for guests to arrive, and for children to come home. We wait for things to get better.
Some years ago, we lived in a rural area. When our children were of driving age, we had a safe, economical used car for their use when needed. We gave them a rule about when they had to be home at night and to phone us if they were delayed. This was before the era of cell phones.
I recall nighttime watching from a window to the distant street, waiting to see our children’s car coming up the road. I could glimpse the car as it passed a street lamp if I was attentive. I hoped that the next set of headlights would be theirs. Darkness made it seem later than it was. We kept watch in this way more times than I can remember. Eventually, they would arrive weary from their day and happy to be home. All was good. I could sleep.
I think whenever we conform to a good rule, we affirm a value. I hope our children saw the rule as a witness to our love for them and how much we treasured them.
Sometimes we develop a rule for ourselves to realize a value we have come to treasure. We might have rules about mealtimes, balancing home and work, spending time with family, and time in prayer.
In the sixth century, St. Benedict developed a Rule for his monastic community with instructions for the rigor and rhythm of the monastery. Everything was ordered to the core value of faith in Christ. The first sentence of The Rule begins with the word “Listen” – to listen with one’s heart.
We live out a value because it has found a home in our hearts.
As we find ourselves in Advent, it may be a graced time to listen to our heart’s values, particularly the love and treasure of our families. It is a hopeful time to wait, watch, and listen – that we may glimpse the lights in our lives. It is a perfect time to pray.
“I wait for the LORD,
my soul waits
and I hope for his word.
My soul looks for the Lord
more than sentinels for daybreak...”
(Psalm 130:5-6)