WAITING TO BEGIN

(Parade of Lights, Part Two)

Who guides your footsteps? Who directs your life journey? Who helps you stay on the right road and out of the ditches? How do you know when to begin and when to stop?

The band enters the staging area, ready for its place in the Parade. A hundred students dressed in brightly lit uniforms march quietly forward in formation, each properly holding an instrument as instructed. Almost as one, the band comes to a halt on the side street, ready to move when called. Then the wait begins.

The high school students hold formation for perhaps a quarter hour before some begin milling and whispering. Adults urge them to stay in line, but the wait is long. The Drum Major puts them through a short step routine to keep their interest, but as the wait wears on, restlessness and mumbling begin filling the night. Lights on uniforms dance showing them to be ready, but time moves slowly in the wait.

Suddenly, a snare drummer raps them to attention. "BRAP! BRAP! BRAP!" Within seconds all the bodies step into place, and the drummer snaps into a marching cadence as the shuffling feet and lighted bodies move gently forward. "BRAP!... ... ... BRAP!... ... ..."

Barricades are lifted and the marchers move through to the ever-louder beat, making their quarter turn onto the street. Suddenly, all the drummers pierce the night with a difficult cadence that sends chills through the crowd. The wait is over - it's SHOWTIME! And all the people watch proudly as their award-winning band leads the parade through the streets.

Advent is a time of waiting, children waiting for Christmas, workers waiting for a shift to end, students waiting for Christmas break, and Christians waiting for the promised second coming of their Savior. One day angel drummers will announce the end of the OLD and the start of the NEW. When that day comes, the Divine Drummer will rap the world to attention, and every human being, dead or alive, will know the Lord and His judgment have come, and the New World is set to begin.

Until then, God calls His men and women to a prepared wait. He tends to our needs, He helps direct us on the right path and corrects us when we fall short. Until then, we live hopefully and joyfully, and we show the world the divine love given us all in the Babe of Bethlehem who came to save us from our sins.

"So be it! Come Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20)