SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE:

Most of us will miss Christmas this year. For some, there is nothing left to celebrate. Some of us will still go through the motions: attend the parties, decorate the house, visit the malls, make our wish list and buy presents for others. But the things we do to prepare for Christmas will be diminished. There will be no splurging.

Most of us will miss Christmas because we are waiting for something to happen. We are waiting for a pink slip, another shoe to drop, for Obama. We are waiting for any good news. I think we are all in the hospital waiting room, nervously awaiting the news of what happens next. Will it be news of a great joy? Or will it be the news we fear, another tragedy?

But I think our waiting is a really good thing. Waiting puts us in an Advent mood.

Advent is the four weeks prior to Christmas. Advent is the season before Christmas — the season of waiting. Waiting for God to do something is the first step in discovering God’s plans for Christmas.

Advent is the season of getting our heart ready to receive the gift of Christmas. If we are not watching and waiting for something to happen, we will miss it. After all, Christmas isn’t something we do; it’s something God does in our midst.

Remember, most people slept through the first Christmas! None of the inn guests or Bethlehem townspeople attended the baby’s birth. Even the angel’s songs did not wake them. They were in the city that became holy overnight, and they totally missed it. They could have witnessed the beginning of God’s salvation bailout program, but they never knew it was coming. They were not in an Advent mood; they were not watching for God to do something.

I cannot tell you what to watch for or where to look. But every year God makes Christmas happen in our midst. Enjoy the waiting. Look for the signs. Clean out the stable!

MARK WILEY is the pastor of Mesa Verde United Methodist Church in Costa Mesa.