It’s total silence. The only lights on are the candles we put in the windows, the light inside our manger scene and the white lights entwined in the branches of the tree we cut down today standing in the sunroom.
It really feels like Christmas season now. We cut down the tree and it’s decorated. I’ve finished decorating the rest of the house…except we are still debating of whether or not to put our curb–find artificial tree, that’s falling apart, up in the playroom to cover it with all those homemade ornaments the kids made through the years. We have the wreathes hanging from the windows and over the doorway. We even just finished watching Polar Express as a family.
So now we just wait.
Wait?
There’s hardly any time to wait! We’re too busy writing lists, checking them off, decorating, wrapping gifts, baking and cooking and going to and throwing parties, trying to take time to enjoy the season, and all of that is added to the regular things we need to do all the time like laundry, afterschool activities, homework and chores. The list goes on and on! They can all be good things, but when we do them all, there’s not enough time to even think about waiting.
Or would this be your response… “ Wait?! It’s more like hurry up and get here so all of this hustle and bustle and traffic and stress and dealing with scrooges will be over!”? (I confess the thought of being that scrooge has been tempting a time or two.) “Wait” is usually not the favorite word or action for most people. Waiting is trying our patience. Waiting can cause restlessness or anxiousness. Waiting can be down-right nerve-wrecking.
But maybe waiting was originally designed to be a gift…not a burden.
Wait is a gift of anticipation. The Word tells us by faith, anticipate and wait for the blessing…which causes us to hope. (Galatians 5:5 AMP)
God doesn’t break his promises! Anticipate the blessing! Anticipate the gift! Don’t you remember when you were a child and could hardly wait any longer until Christmas morning?! Anticipation! Excitement! JOY!
We all wait the same amount of time every year for Christmas…whether it feels like a long or short wait. That wait is to be a reminder of deep down anticipation, hope and joy of the gift of Jesus then, now and his final return.
I’m praying we’ll have that feeling of joyful anticipation this advent season. That we’ll have that excitement of waiting for that gift we’ve been wanting for for so long.
It’s so worth the wait!
Blessings this week:
#1081 White lights on the tree
#1082 doing tradition….our family going to the tree farm to cut down our tree
(can you see how big brother just loves to put his arm around little sister…hehehe)
#1083 the kiss with my husband as we’re surrounded by Christmas trees
#1084 son’s first basketball game
#1085 Holly Days with a friend
#1086 the joy in daughters face when she put on her first pair of glasses. “I can see!”
#1087 got the house decorated
#1088 making cookies with daughter
#1089 singing Christmas hymns at church…including Joy to the World Unspeakable Joy
#1090 warm, sunny day…in December
#1091 the angel on the wreath shining bright
#1092 tangled string of lights (can also be a ‘hard to be thankful for’ joy when so hard to untangle!)
#1093 bright lights in the window on a dark night
#1094 celebrating a friend’s birthday with her
#1095 husband’s listening to and supporting me
#1096 wisdom, encouragement and prayers from friends
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