Advent: Waiting for LoveSample

DAY 2: True Love Waits

Mary and Joseph knew something about waiting.

Before they were ever parents, they were dreamers—young, betrothed, and full of plans for the life ahead. But then everything changed. Before their wedding day, before their new beginning, came an announcement that would alter the course of history: Mary was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

It was not the timing they had imagined.

Joseph, “being a just man,” wrestled with what to do. The law allowed him to divorce her quietly, to protect his dignity. But God intervened through an angel who said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife… she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

In that moment, Joseph’s waiting took on new meaning. He no longer waited for a wedding but for a miracle. He waited for the fulfillment of a promise.

God’s love is like that. It doesn’t rush. It doesn’t force. It is patient and kind. It unfolds in its own divine timing.

When we read, “Love is patient,” we’re not just being told how to love others—we’re learning how God loves us. The entire story of Scripture is proof that true love waits. From Eden to Bethlehem, God waited for the fullness of time to send His Son. And even now, Christ waits for the day when He will return for His Bride, the Church.

In an age of instant gratification, waiting feels like punishment. We’re conditioned to want everything now—answers, progress, resolution. But Advent reminds us that love takes the long way. Love endures the uncertainty. Love waits for hearts to be ready.

Sometimes, the hardest part of faith is not believing that God can act, but trusting that His timing is better than ours.
Mary and Joseph didn’t rush the story. They waited for God’s love to arrive on its own schedule—wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger, and shining with the light of heaven.

And so we wait too.
Not with crossed arms and tapping feet, but with open hands and hopeful hearts. Because true love still waits—and that love has a name.

REFLECTION:
Where in your life do you feel God calling you to slow down and trust His timing? How can you mirror His patient love toward others this week?