One of the joys in life is anticipation. Anticipation allows us to think of the best and most joyful things we know and believe they will come to be again … this time, perhaps even better than last time. Anticipation is a curious blend of what we knew physically in the past with what we have never known, except in our dreams. Anticipation allows us to believe that the unseen will really be seen!
It is exciting to pull ornaments out of the box and remember again when they were first brought into our lives. It is comforting to get out the old recipes and fill the house with the smells of baking again. Songs that are called “Christmas songs” seem old and familiar and yet somehow fresh and new when they are enjoyed in a particular season.
Many of us remember a time when we believed that a jolly, fat man would really come down the chimney and leave us gifts, while we slept. We lay in the dark, filled with determination to “catch him in the act” this year, but “the sandman” always seemed to come first.
Jesus is even now preparing a place for us, both on earth and in Heaven. Like an eager parent putting together those toys that come with “some assembly required”, Jesus is assembling our gifts and anticipating! He is already looking forward to the wonder on our faces when we realize the gifts are really for us … and we start unwrapping them with joy.
Would Jesus really give us gifts? He already has … but perhaps we’ve never realized they were just for us … or maybe we’ve only partially unwrapped them. Come join me as we journey through a Christmas of Discovery!
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
Who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17
Great – familiar concepts presented in a fresh light!
Linking excitement and anticipation to spiritual gifts…
Seeing our “human-divine gifts” from Jesus’ perspective.
How clever – deep insight.