the sacrament of waiting

Slowly

she celebrated the sacrament of letting go.

First she surrendered her green,

then the orange, yellow, and red

finally she let go of her brown.

Shedding her last leaf

she stood empty and silent, stripped bare.

Leaning against the winter sky

she began her vigil of trust.

Shedding her last leaf

she watched its journey to the ground.

She stood in silence

wearing the color of emptiness,

her branches wondering;

How do you give shade with so much gone?

And then,

the sacrament of waiting began.

The sunrise and sunset watched with tenderness.

Clothing her with silhouettes

they kept her hope alive.

They helped her understand that

her vulnerability,

her dependence and need,

her emptiness,

her readiness to receive

were giving her a new kind of beauty.

Every morning and every evening they stood in silence

and celebrated together

the sacrament of waiting.

+ Macrina Wiederkehr

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Advent is the season when we celebrate together the sacrament of waiting.  May our vulnerability, our dependence, our need, and our emptiness make us ready to receive God who has promised to be with us for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until we are united in death. 

And, as always, thanks to Holly Wolsey Soper for adding this photo to our flickr group.  It's so full of the "vigil of trust" it almost hurts!