Thursday Th(ink)s - December 11, 2025

Waiting for Light

Thursday is my favorite day. It reminds me I’ve been gifted days already lived, and it gives me

hope for days yet to come. I have no idea if this Thursday night will be my last moment on

earth—but if it is, I’ll close my eyes knowing I was more fortunate than some. And I don’t know

why.

That not-knowing is one of the great conundrums of being human. Yet it is also the Christian’s

greatest relief: I don’t know; but God does. And I trust His providence—in everything.

It’s Advent and the waiting has begun. We live with anticipation in our hearts. Waiting for the

Messiah to be born. All the promises of the covenant bundled in swaddling clothes.

I’ve written many stage plays during my 50 years of writing. The one that impacted me most and

grounded my faith was an eight-part series simply titled The History of Redemption. I followed

the scarlet thread Scripture draws through the entire Bible—from the Godhead agreeing, before

time, to provide a Messiah.

It is a story that weaves through real people—Adam, Abraham, David. I spent months

researching and writing. Finally, deadline looming, I typed the final scene: John the Baptist

watching Jesus approach for baptism. John looked at Him and declared,

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

Done. Script done. Waiting done.

I lifted my hands from the keyboard, folded them on my lap, put my head down, and wept. I

could not stop weeping. The story of redemption found its climactic moment when Jesus

incarnated—God become man. The story had a beginning and an ending.

God reveals His love to us through story. He had a plan from the beginning of time to redeem us.

The story is full of heroism, heartbreak, betrayal, victory, and loss… because it is full of real

people. God used us to bring His Son into the world.

Advent—the gift of waiting. Waiting not for the story to end, but for it to begin again.

It is the end of darkness, sadness, and despair.

It is the beginning of light, joy, and peace.

Big Brains: “Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops—at all.” Emily Dickinson

Old Souls: “Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, ‘wait and hope.’” Alexandre Dumas

The Ancient of Days: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.” Deuteronomy 18:15

Norma Jean
Waiting is a holy act when you know who’s coming.

Thursday Chat Waiting can feel like night—uncertain, restless, anxious. But we know Advent’s secret: the light has already dawned. So we wait in hope, because darkness has already lost.