Already not yet

 If Advent is preparation for Christmas, what do you call preparation for Advent? This season of remembering that we live in the limbo of "already, but not yet" has never been more real than in the past few days.

Being allowed to participate in DJ's first birthday party,

enjoying the continuing excitement of the anticipation of another little one,

watching both Mariana and Isaac live out their life's story,

waiting for Andrew and Sarah's move to DC (and a whole lot closer to "home"),

and the heartbreak of witnessing Grandmom's stroke, difficulty in communication, yet clearly articulated desire to see her Heavenly Father. "I want to go home," she says again and again. "Can we sing about it?" I asked. "Yes, please do," was her reply. As we did, each song brought her peace from her agitation and she sang along. When we stopped, the requests began again, "I wanna go home...Father take me home...Just let me come over..." This is the reality of the "already, but not yet" that we live here on earth. Joy and sorrow. Pleasure and pain. All at once. Wanting to go home. Wanting to stay. Wanting loved ones to stay just a little bit longer. Come, Lord Jesus. He has come, but we wait with expectation for His second coming when all sorrow and sickness will be gone. Already, but not yet.

The Messiah has come. He fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. Every December we decorate our homes, we sing carols, and we hear the stories repeated in church. We know He lives in our hearts and He changes our lives. But we also know that He has not yet come the second time as He promised. We eagerly await this second coming. As a member of the "Already Not Yet" Club, am I living in such a way as to represent the One who has come but who has not yet come again? Does my life represent His saving power as the fulfillment of His first coming? Do I live with the urgency of His second coming? May I be a light this coming Advent season, and at all times, to point others to membership in Jesus' Kingdom, the Kingdom of Already, Not Yet.