A friend of mine posted a quote today that sums up the feeling we're trying to convey to our children about what that waiting was like:
A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes... and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent. - Dietrich BonhoefferAs we sit in a darkened room, the oldest child lights the first candle, and when the flame is lit, my husband or I read, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light." Then we sing what I consider the prototypical Advent hymn: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."
One of its verses particularly captures what I want my children to take away about the dark times of waiting for a word from the Lord. I want us to have a sense of the Lord's absence so that we may even more rejoice in his presence.
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
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