I Can Hardly Wait

My son sent a photo of he and Shawntel taking friends with their little two-year-old girl to see Austin’s spectacular Trail of Lights. They’re getting that little one started early. And that’s what my parents did for me. As a child, some of my fondest memories of Christmas included the drive to look at Christmas lights. I could hardly wait for this annual excursion. I was in awe of the light displays that covered homes and their yards. I remember a beautiful woman sitting at her piano in her bay window playing Christmas carols piped outdoors where we could hear her. Then there was the Santa who would hand out candy canes as the line of cars would slowly drive by. I could hardly wait to get to the grand finale of the enormous nativity scene of real characters posing as Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and wise men. Then, when I became a mommy to my little ones, I could hardly wait to get them to bed on Christmas Eve because Mr. & Mrs. Santa had work to do. We knew we had to act quickly because they would come bounding to the Christmas tree way early on Christmas morning. When we were sure they were all nestled snug in their heads, we’d bring out the grand “prizes” for them because they had been good enough for Santa to bring them their new bikes, set up the new train or whatever their Christmas wish might have been. And, here we are at Christmas, 2020, having journeyed through the Advent season of waiting and preparing our hearts to receive the Christ child on Christmas morning when we celebrate His birthday and when all of heaven and earth sings: “Joy to the world, the Lord has come!” I think you can probably discern by now that I’m going somewhere with the words “We could hardly wait!” The Apostle Paul voices his own, “I can hardly wait! How much longer?” sentiments in Philippians 1:20. “My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.” Paul could hardly wait for heaven to be his home. He had earned it for sure! Paul describes this longing by calling it an eager expectation and hope. We can only imagine how much, after all his suffering, that Paul could hardly wait to see Jesus face to face. I think that our excitement and the eager expectation we have for our children to be surprised and elated by the gifts we give them is a picture of our own longing, hoping, and waiting to see the greatest of all gifts – our Lord and Savior. The little Lord Jesus is no longer sleeping on the hay. He is our risen Lord and Savior and we anticipate the coming day when we will spend eternity with Him in heaven. But until then, our hearts will go on singing. Until then, with joy we'll carry on. Until the day our eyes behold our Saviour. Until the day God calls us home. Until that time, dear Lord, please grant us courage to live in a way that honors and glorifies You daily. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. I can hardly wait! Can you?