Waiting

I cannot believe that it is already Advent, much less December. It feels like the last few months have gone by at breakneck speed and that I am sitting here staring down winter. The branches here are pretty much bare, and they seem to claw at the leaden sky. While I join everyone in Advent waiting, in preparing my mind and heart to receive Christ, I know that I am also waiting for spring, for the new life that bursts forth from cold earth and barren trees. I am waiting for the days to lengthen and for the sun to once again play among the leaves and blossoms.
As I write this, I have to ask myself, "Am I waiting and longing for Christ in the same way that I am longing for spring?" While I would like to think that I am, the waiting and longing takes on a different meaning when I compare it to my longing for spring. Christ is our light. If I am waiting and longing for Christ as I am for the sun, I am waiting and longing for the light of Christ to fill my heart -- so that even in the dead of winter I am bathed in light. Somehow that is comforting yet challenging at the same time. If I am living as one who experiences that light, how will that change my relationships with others and with God?