Can't Wait!!

Merry Christmas! As a child, Christmas Day seemed to approach slower than the last drop of molasses leaving a glass bottle. These days, December seems to pass quickly. There may be a variety of reasons for this but perhaps one reason is the waning of a particular emotion the older we get. It’s the emotion of anticipation. I don’t always think of anticipation as an emotion, but if anxiousness counts, anticipation must certainly too!

I come from a long line of Christmas fanatics. My grandfather was a perpetual jokester and the type of person you had to carefully decipher if he was being serious. He was a certified M.D. (meat dealer) and sold a package of bologna (literally and proverbially) to every grocery store in the state of Alabama. Twice over more than likely.

Ironically, when it came to Christmas, the man did not play. He left this world with a firm belief in Jesus and Saint Nick. I was about 16 when I thought I discovered Santa wasn’t real, but my grandfather put an end to those thoughts as fast as they developed. You could call him on December 9th, and he’d start the conversation with, “you know it’s only 16 days before Christmas.” He never lost his sense of anticipation.

We often think of life in a linear fashion, but Christmas reminds us that life is also cyclical. Christmas creates a confluence of generations and the shared memories that bond the generations together. The focus of our anticipation may shift, but what a delight to anticipate the shared joy in subsequent generations. I’m beginning to see that the focus of my anticipation isn’t just for what lies ahead but in the investment I will leave behind. Anticipation grounds us in the present as we look ahead expectantly even with regards to what we will leave behind. From the vantage point of today, we can surround ourselves with anticipation.  

There’s a Christmas story that gets very little press and it speaks to this idea of anticipation across the generations. He was a regular guy like my granddad who looked with anticipation toward Christmas. His name was Simeon and he wanted to see Jesus with great anticipation and God granted his prayer.

29Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. 30For my eyes have seen your salvation. 31You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples- 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel. Luke 2:29-32

Simeon never lost his sense of anticipation even after he laid eyes on Jesus! Why? Because his anticipation was in both directions! His future hope in Jesus and what it would also mean for the generations behind him.

What are we anticipating this Christmas? I hope we don’t have to think too hard about that question. We never outgrow our sense of anticipation, but it does undergo a shift. We look ahead and we also look behind. The cyclical nature of anticipation has a profound way of aligning at Christmas. Christmas let’s us know that God makes good on His promises. We can look ahead and behind in anticipation of what He will do!