Be Strong, Take Heart

By Sister Bobbi Bussan, OSB

This Advent, the Taize mantra Wait for the Lord, the time is near. Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart has just stayed with me in prayer and in humming. 

It was the first week of Advent when I sang it and it has never left. So I just integrated it into my daily Advent prayer!  

It has always seemed odd that we wait for the Lord. 

In fact, Jesus is with me always. I don't wait for Him as He is here ... immediate and forever.  

God breaks into my life each second - through the presence of Jesus as well as multiple other ways.  

However, I do wait to celebrate Christmas as the celebration of my everyday experience of God breaking into my life with Jesus. 

This yearly and intentional Christmas event serves to bring the joy, peace and love of Christ more deeply and richly into my daily life. 

The verse, Be strong, take heart, also opened my prayer to reflect on ways I need to improve my daily stance. 

The world provides enormous opportunities for us to be strong, take heart in the Lord:  to stand up for protecting our earth from abuse, for welcoming God's people at any border, to speak words of love and not hate, for respecting each person's dignity as made in the image and beauty of God, for sharing our resources so all may have basic needs met, and for loving the church even with disappointments. 

I need to rely on the strength of the Lord to move me forward as He needs me to live.  

May you enjoy the joy of knowing God breaks into your life repeatedly and provides the strength you need to live with challenges.