Wait Not Want

By Cheri Cowell

I’m terrible at waiting. Some people seem to possess a wonderful abundance of patience, but I’m not one of those people. Others who know me say I have a lot of patience and I’m good at waiting, but they don’t know what is going on inside. Inside I’m pacing, I’m making to-do lists, I’m thinking through all the possibilities, and I’m agitated. I’m not patient. I’m not waiting, I’m wanting. I’m wanting for the event to start, the situation to improve, or the circumstance to change. What is the difference, you ask? When I am truly waiting I have a peace about me that says I know the event, situation, or circumstance is a done deal. It is going to happen and I don’t need to fret or worry. There isn’t anything I can or need to do but wait. It says that I am not in control, but have submitted that authority to Someone bigger and better able to handle it than me. When I want, I feel I have control, and therefore, all the responsibility. Advent is a time to wait.

John says it so clearly: When Christ was born; True Light came into the world. That scene has been completed and is completed in us again every Christmas. Advent is our time to wait on the Lord, knowing full well that the gift will arrive on time. 

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Dreaming

By Cheri Cowell

Every mother and father looks on his or her infant child and wonders what magnificent things he or she will do. Will they become President of the United States or solve some incurable disease? Will they lead a revolution like Martin Luther King, Jr. or serve multitudes in selfless love like Mother Teresa? A new baby comes with new dreams not only for that child but also for the parents who will touch thousands more than they ever could with just their own lives. God had big dreams for the people of this world. He knew that in order to truly fulfill the dreams He has for each of us, He needed to send His Son to fulfill another dream—a dream that goes beyond what we sometimes think of when we remember the life of Christ.

In the book of Isaiah, the prophet speaks the very dreams from the heart of God. These are the dreams of a parent—a parent who is not only dreaming for His Son, but for you and me. Isaiah wrote these words 700 years before Christ was born. For 700 years God waited expectantly for just the right time. He carried these dreams in His heart and waited. Sometimes, when we think our waiting will never end, we need to remember God always waits for perfect timing.

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Inside Out

By Cheri Cowell

Today I met a friend for lunch and through our conversation she learned that I indeed wore a southern belle gown and big picture hat for my wedding. For proof I pulled the picture from my purse. As she looked at the image she said, “Funny, I didn’t picture you as the southern belle type,” to which I replied, “You’re right. I guess I was filling a role I thought I should play.”

Come to think of it, I have played many roles in my life that were not accurate reflections of my inner self. Jesus can see beneath the surface and calls us to be who we really are.

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From Trash To Treasure

By Cheri Cowell

I know I’m my mother’s daughter because I have one secret habit that comes directly from her. This is indeed a dirty little secret that my husband wishes I didn’t have. I can’t help myself, but as I drive by homes on garbage day, I survey the trash. I’ve found chairs, lamps, bookshelves, silk trees, and even a perfectly good fruit tree. My husband was horrified the first time I made him stop beside a garbage heap while I jumped out of the car to retrieve something. Over the years, he’s learned to go along with my treasure hunts and has even begun to enjoy our excursions on garbage day.  

There are “hidden treasures” around us every day, people who have been tossed out on the trash heaps of mankind, labeled useless to society. These worthless rags, unseen and forgotten by the rest of the world, are seen by God. He has called us to be His treasure seekers, looking for the lost and reclaiming them for Him. Because of your faithfulness in seeing the trash heap of another as a place of buried treasure, generations after you will come to know Jesus. 

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Blessed Are The Persecuted

By Cheri Cowell

You have experienced the final beatitude, haven’t you? My professor asked rhetorically after hearing my tale of persecution. He then went on to explain to the class that although the last beatitude says we are blessed if we are persecuted for His sake, when it is happening, we won’t feel too blessed. While I was experiencing the worst of the persecution, I found the psalms to utter what I could not express to God in my prayers—the pain and alienation was too great. Within the psalms, those who are persecuted will find an echo of their deep emotions.

Seventy-two psalms, almost half of the book, are about persecution at the hand of enemies. If you are a Christian and doing God’s bidding, you will experience persecution. The persecution is never enjoyable, but Jesus did promise us we would be blessed. How? One of the ways is through the closeness of Christ during these dark days. I do not want to experience the pain of persecution again, but I am almost willing to do so, if I could be that close to Him again.

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