And we wait….

    A time of waiting…. a time of HOPE. For the 4 weeks before Christmas, Christians throughout the world celebrate ADVENT and ‘in eager expectation’ we wait for our Saviour, we wait for Immanuel- God with us.
    Life is full of joys and sorrows…. As I consider the events of the past week that impacted me personally, I feel like I have been on an emotional and spiritual roller coaster, and am so thankful to know God is travelling with me.
    With the Kiers’ family who grieve the loss of their son and brother, Nick, we wept at the visitation and at the funeral, struggled with the reality of death and trying to understand what is happening. Yet through it, God’s people never doubted God’s comfort and loving arms around them. As I hugged one of Nick’s brothers, he whispered, “Our God is indescribable, so much more than we can imagine!” WOW!
    With the Meinema family, as they face the reality of cancer again, we do not give up hope. In our despair, we turn to the God of healing, knowing that He will never leave us. Even when we cannot pray, “God’s Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8). God knows our pain and longs for us to be well.
    Last Friday, after many months of ‘eager expectation’, a brand new baby boy, Zion Patrick, was born to my daughter and son-in-law. He is absolutely the most precious baby, and God showed me again His desire for life - life fully in his light. Welcoming another grandchild each time is ‘wonder’ full and I stand speechless, amazed at how ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ each human being is!
    I just spent  half an hour outside on supervising the playground and it struck me that every child outside belongs to a family that also has stories like I have just shared. We all know pain, suffering and joy and happiness..often at the same time. We all need the hope of Christ Jesus!!
    Romans 8:38 says it best, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
    In that amazing love of God, with Christians around the world, I wait with Hope… come Lord Jesus, come quickly!
                            Mrs. Bernice Huinink-Buiter