The Waiting

The waiting is the hardest part – Tom Petty

What’s your favorite part of Christmas?

There are so many wonderful things about Christmas it may be hard to choose.  Is it the presents or the music? The decorations or the food? Maybe it’s celebrating with friends and family.  For me, the best part of Christmas is now – the last few days before Christmas Day.

It’s the sense of anticipation that I love, wondering what Christmas Day will bring.  As a child, Christmas week waiting was almost unbearable. I wanted it to be Christmas and yet, I didn’t want to lose the joy of anticipation.  That’s probably why Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year.

Anticipation has been part and parcel of the Christmas story from the very beginning.  Israel had long been waiting for the promised Messiah and by the time Jesus was born anticipation was running high.  With the advent of the Coronavirus vaccine anticipation is once again running high, as we look forward to life returning to normal, or nearly normal.  We also await the culmination of Christmas:  Jesus’ return which will usher in a reign of everlasting justice, peace and love.

It could be a long wait.  We’ve been anticipating His return for 2,000 years.  How do we continue waiting faithfully?

Well, I for one am collecting stamps.

I know, I know:  That sounds like a flip answer, but hear me out.  Stamps are more than mere postage; they have a lot to teach us. Among other things, they tell stories.  For example, one of the countries I collect is Austria.  They make some of the most beautiful stamps in the world, and their Christmas stamps are particularly creative.  Like this one, which features an actual Swarovski crystal for the star atop the Christmas tree –

My favorite Christmas stamp dates back to 1953 and is much simpler –

I love this stamp because it sums up Christmas for me.  The story it tells is one of childlike joy and anticipation.  Wouldn’t it be nice if this attitude was not just limited to Christmas, but extended to every day of our life?  Is there a way to make this happen?

It can happen if we see every day as a gift.  Every day God gives us new blessings.  Sometimes those blessings are easy to spot; sometimes they are small and easily overlooked.  And sometimes, they don’t look like blessings at all.  But life, seen through the eyes of childlike faith (trust), can recognize the blessings that abound all around us.

This stamp takes me back to a time when my eyes were young and everything I looked at was new and exciting.  I was surrounded by blessings.  Anything, even the most mundane kitchen utensil, could be turned into a toy.  The weekly trip to the lumber yard with my dad was a source of endless adventure.  Life was a wonder.

Life is still a wonder, but in a different way.  I still love to go to lumber yards, but I avoid spending time in the kitchen if I can (I might be asked to cook something).  My faith is different as well.  It isn’t as innocent and childlike as it once was.  The loss of loved ones and the wear and tear of daily life have taken their toll.  Many days I have more questions than answers and I long for the time when everything was much simpler.

But, that’s on me.  Over the years I have changed but God has not.  God is no less faithful today than 60 years ago.  God is as worthy of trust now as ever.  Christmas is a reminder of God’s faithfulness.  It also points to a glorious future, a future we should anticipate with joy and wonder.

With the Coronavirus, Christmas 2020 will not be a normal holiday for many of us.  But, the pandemic won’t last forever.  I’m reminded of Paul’s words to the believers in Corinth –

For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

Blessings abound and there are more to come.  Just wait and see.

Have a blessed Christmas.  Stay well.

Annunciations

A poem for Christmas Eve

Borne on a star’s breath
 suspended like butterflies
against the night sky
wings pinned on velvet blackness
three angels singing