Today at work, one of my student workers gave me crap for the lack of snacks in the snack box by our coffee bar. I say “my” because I’m their supervisor—at which point you might say, “Gee, Madeline, I just read your bio and… weren’t you a student a few months ago? How are you a student worker supervisor? Isn’t that weird?” To which I would say, “Yup.” But that’s beside the point.
I responded with something like: “That’s because we’re practicing gratitude and patience—we’re more grateful for snacks when we’ve gone without for a bit. And since we know more are on the way, we can joyfully wait for them.”
He said, “What? That is wrong.”
I countered, “No it’s not. It’s an opportunity for a little virtue formation during this Advent season!”
To which he said nothing.
Now, my comment was a bit overblown, I’ll admit. I had, in fact, miscalculated how fast the last order of snacks would go and the best excuse I could muster was a quick-witted quip about the Church calendar. But honestly, I think there’s something there.
Throughout our lives, we go through seasons of working and waiting, and others of joy and abundance—saving for an international trip and finally getting to go, shivering in the cold in expectation of a brilliant sunrise, cooking dinner after a long workday and then enjoying good conversation at the table, training for months and finally running a marathon, or going without snacks in the office until… never mind. The waiting and work we put in make the outcome sweet.
But in this life, we don’t always reach the moment of joy we hope for.
In high school, I ran cross country. My sophomore year, I was pretty fast for a low-on-natural-talent kid who had barely reached puberty. My goal all season was to break 20:00. I chipped away: 21:26, then 20:48, then 20:23, and finally 20:08 at Conference Finals. I had one, maybe two more chances. At Regionals, although I knew I was burning out, I gave it everything I had left. About half a mile in I knew my body didn’t have the strength to power through. I didn’t hit my goal. I even got bumped off the varsity team I’d run with all season and went to State as an alternate.
We don’t always reach our goals. We don’t always see the fruition of our hard work. We’re broken—sometimes literally. This is the mark of our humanity.
In this Advent season, though, we get to celebrate that our fallenness is temporary. As Christians, we can and should work towards redemption throughout our daily lives. And one day, our small efforts towards goodness will be fully realized with the coming of the new creation.
In Advent, we get to think about this more earnestly. We get to intentionally practice patience and joyful expectation as we await the coming of Christ. And, no—we will not experience burnout before the regional cross country meet. The day of rejoicing will come.
How amazing it is when we reach Christmas day and can sing with full voices—
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with the angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
—knowing that this joy is just a glimpse of something much greater.
Madeline Witvliet (’25) graduated from Calvin with a degree in English. She can be found in coffee shops in Eastown, exploring Michigan’s state parks, or singing with Calvin’s Alumni Choir. Madeline enjoys spending time outdoors, crafting, and cooking Mediterranean-inspired meals.
