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Thank you for continuing to come back each day in Advent. As we consider “A Legacy of Faith,” we are reviewing different relationships that have influenced our faith. We’ve looked at mothers and fathers, but not all families are uncomplicated these days. Today we’ll look at the way stepparents can also touch our lives.

When I was in my 30’s, my biological mother died. It was a difficult time for my father. He seemed to age about ten years during those first few months. Then a year later, he married again. Andy, the woman we all came to call Grandy, became our stepmother. The first time we met, she was very nervous. Imagine how one feels meeting the parents of your intended. Then multiply that feeling by three or four as you meet, not the parents, but your fiancé’s adult children! Grandy was a “grand” addition to our family.

Though my father died some years ago, Grandy remains a wonderful influence in my life. She is now 95 years old and struggles with Parkinson’s, yet she is still teaching me: She shows me how to age gracefully and accept ever increasing physical limitations. Though she no longer leaves her apartment, Grandy continues to serve the Lord by caring for our extended family and by phoning a blind friend daily to read scripture to her.

In Isaiah 46:3,4, the Lord tells us, “Listen to me…I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime, until your hair is white with age.”

Has an older adult stepped into your life to encourage you? Perhaps that person is alone this Christmas season and now needs a word of encouragement. Why not give them a call today? Remind them that they are not forgotten by God…or by you.

Today is our last day of Advent! My prayer is that your heart feels ready to welcome the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

For the past eight years, I have worked on writing a series of four novels about the gospel writers. It has been a labor (addiction?) of love. I enjoy each of my characters and have gotten to know them better and better as each year goes by and as they age just as I have. Now I am drafting the final chapters of the fourth novel, and I hardly want to let go of my new friends. At the same time I am eager to see the books in print and available to others.

As the apostle John finished recording the final chapter of the book of Revelation, he must have felt some of the same emotions. In Rev. 22:7,10,12, and 20, the Lord said that he was coming quickly, that the time was near, again that he was coming quickly, and yet a fourth time that he was coming quickly.

John was the last of Jesus’ disciples that was still alive. He must have been anxious to get to heaven and to see Jesus face to face as his fellow apostles had already done. John’s response to the Lord’s words was immediate: “Even so, come quickly, Lord!”

Just as we have eagerly awaited Christmas, we now eagerly await seeing our Lord face to face. May the Lord bless you and those you love as you celebrate tomorrow!

Attending the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference recently was the culmination of months of preparation. First, I had two full book manuscripts to put in shape in order to show them to publishers and editors and agents at the conference. Then there were two workshops to organize. Not to mention manuscripts for other writers that I had been asked to critique. How could I ever get it all done and still live my normal full life?

I had to make difficult choices.

One of those choices was to pass on visiting all my English as a Foreign Language students from last semester. I grew to love each one and desired to see them succeed in learning my language, but this summer allowed no time for me to visit each person in his or her home.

Another difficult decision involved temporarily setting aside visits with older shut-ins, more people I love. Our relationships had to go on hold. Would one or more of these dear people leave this life before I had time to squeeze in another visit? One of these friends is turning 100 this month!

But now that the conference is past? I can shift my focus. I can step back into life and renew these friendships. Setting priorities doesn’t have to mean saying no forever, but rather it may mean merely adjusting the timing. My friends are patient. A lunch, a phone call, a movie. Relationships are forever.

We are drawing nearer to Christmas! Only five more days of waiting! Thank you for continuing to share this journey through Advent.

 Mary and Joseph were not the only ones who waited eagerly for the arrival of the first Christmas. According to Luke 2, other people were also waiting during this period: Simeon and Anna.

 Anna had served daily in the Temple for over sixty years. She was now 84 years old. Never leaving the Temple day or night, she was constantly watching for the coming Messiah. After decades of waiting, imagine her joy when Mary and Joseph walked in holding their son Jesus!

 Many people assume that because Anna was old, Simeon was old also because, after seeing the Christ child, he says, “Now I can die in peace for I have seen the Savior.” But Luke is explicit about identifying people who were old. Zechariah and his wife were described as “very old” and Anna is listed with her actual age of 84. But Simeon is not described as old. Nor did he live in the Temple as Anna did, The Spirit led him there on that particular day. For all we know, he had been praying about the Coming Messiah for only a brief time.

 But whether the waiting period was short or long, for both of these devout people, when Mary and Joseph arrived, the period was over at last. They saw the fruit of their dreams.

 Only God knows how long you may have to wait – short or long – before your prayer is answered. But we have this assurance: He will answer!

Have you ever planned a holiday celebration and then, instead of seeing your prayers and hopes fulfilled, you see things flow downward in an unending spiral. The turkey burns, the eggnog runs out, six extra guests arrive.

Like Isaiah, Jeremiah served faithfully as a prophet of Jehovah for many decades. Where Isaiah had opportunity to present an uplifting message about the glory of the Lord, Jeremiah received a frightening message about God’s judgment on the nations. The more Jeremiah preached about the reality of a coming Day of Judgment, the worse his own circumstances became. It was bad enough that his family and neighbors rejected him. It was frightening when his colleagues at work threatened to take his life. Then the king himself allowed his officials to arrest Jeremiah and abandon him in a cistern full of mud and sewage. Had God forgotten the prophet’s many faithful years of preaching?

 Perhaps, in despair, Jeremiah reread what the Lord said in Isaiah’s scrolls (49:15): “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.” God never forgets his children.

 Sure enough, one faithful man recruited help, rescued Jeremiah from the pit, and pulled him from the mud.

 If God has not yet answered your prayers, though years have gone by and circumstances have gotten worse rather than better, be assured, the Lord has not forgotten you or our request!

My uncle loved to celebrate Christmas. He was a strong believer in Christ and prayed regularly for his children, but they did not choose to follow the same path. Then he faced a stroke and other health complications. His time on earth was shortened. Despite many years of waiting, my uncle died without seeing his children turn to Christ. He never saw the answer to his prayers in this life, and now, in heaven he still waits for that to happen.

Isaiah preached to the people of Israel for over fifty years. He warned them of coming judgment, he wooed them with expressions of God’s love, he awed them with pictures of God’s power and glory. He prophesied in Is. 59:20, “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob.” But after half a century of preaching and waiting for a response, Isaiah died without seeing his nation turn back to the Lord. His Redeemer appeared hundreds of years later.

You would not be reading this devotional if you were not waiting for God to do something special in your life or hoping that God will answer a prayer for a loved one. Will your faith remain strong even if you do not see your prayer answered in this life?

Yesterday I had major surgery for back pain. It was originally scheduled to take place just after Christmas, in January. Some people were praying that I might avoid surgery altogether and be healed before then, so I faced a dilemma. On the one hand, I wanted to have faith to believe God would heal me, but on the other hand, I felt a need to take practical steps, make meals for the freezer, and organize my life around the scheduled date of surgery. I struggled to know just how to balance faith and reason as I waited.

Elijah was a powerful prophet of God. In 1 Kings 18, he called down fire from heaven and boldly confronted the prophets of Baal. But right after that, he suddenly ran away in the face of death threats from Queen Jezebel. He struggled to know how to balance trusting God and taking practical steps to preserve his own life.

The prophet ran and ran and ran until at last he collapsed in the desert. There he waited. He even prayed, “Lord, take my life! I’ve had enough!” Elijah fell asleep and when he woke up, he found God had provided fresh bread, baking on hot stones nearby. While the prophet rested, God took care of all the practical needs.

The Lord knows that you have human needs for sleep, for food, for safety. And while you wait, he will provide all you need. [Editor husband Gene: the surgery went well.]

Christmas is coming and gifts are piling up under the tree. My mother used to say, “Good things come in small packages.”

In Judges 6, the Lord called Gideon to lead his people out of oppression by the nation of Midian. It took Gideon a bit of time to be certain he heard the Lord correctly and to gear up his courage, but at last he had assembled an army of over 30,000 men to fight the Midianites. Gideon’s army was on the move and ready to attack when suddenly the Lord told Gideon to wait.

To wait? Why? There was a problem. Gideon had too many soldiers in his army! (Wouldn’t the Pentagon love that problem?) The Lord persuaded Gideon to let all those who were timid or afraid to return home. That night he lost 22,000 soldiers. Still, he reasoned, 10,000 men remained. Then the Lord told Gideon to wait again.

There were still too many men in the army. Once more, the Lord whittled the army down until it was a mere 300 men, armed only with ram’s horns and clay pots. But good things came in small packages. This small army unit won the battle.

What happened during this period of waiting? Gideon learned to lean on God in brand new ways. Credit for the victory that ensued clearly belonged to God.

Think about your dream. How has waiting caused you to lean on God and caused you to trust in Him?