“Anticipating Christmas”
December 24, 2024
Christmas Eve has always been my favorite day of the year, for many reasons, but most of all because of the anticipation associated with it! As a child I can remember going to church on the Eve of Christmas, but not really paying attention because I was wondering if Santa was loading presents under our tree while we were worshipping. Anticipation! Turns out he never was, for reasons I came to understand as I matured.
Once a non-Santa believing person, I still liked Christmas Eve the best because of our many family traditions. We would decorate our tree, make a fire, drink hot chocolate, and eat some snacks, open one present at midnight, and then open the rest on Christmas morning. Anticipation!
Christmas Eve has been very kind to my family all of my life! And yet, I realize that is not everyone’s experience. I know that this day, and this season can be difficult for many people. Grief, illness, outlandish expectations, disappointment, family difficulties, to name a few, can cast quite a cloud on joyful anticipation.
I have tasted a little of the sadness that many of you and others have experienced as it pains me to gather with my family around the holiday table and realize that my parents are no longer seated at each end. However, my family is so thankful to God for the immense blessing of my parents, and for the hope we have of seeing them again one day. Anticipation!
While there’s a shadow of disappointment and sadness this Christmas Eve as a few of my friends have unexpectedly lost their spouses, there is also a deep joy inside because of the hope of being reunited in the future. Anticipation!
A dear friend of mine woke up the other day and immediately began thinking of how this season is so difficult for so many and she found herself praying for those who came to mind and wishing there were “a quick fix” to their broken hearts. There is no such remedy, but she realized there is this –
“The LORD your God in your midst, the MIGHTY ONE, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will exult over you with loud singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17
This may be an obscure verse to many of us, especially at Christmas, but much comfort may be taken in the thoughts expressed in this passage if we understand that:
– The LORD is in our midst
– The LORD is in our midst with power to save
– God takes joy in us
– God gives us rest in His love
– God sings over us
I don’t often think of God singing, but He does – and He sings over His people. This is how much joy and delight we give to the LORD, that He breaks into song! The realization of what God’s salvation means, His rejoicing over us, and loudly singing over us, pushes the shadow of disappointment aside! Anticipation!
Merry Christmas Eve, to you and yours! May we anticipate together, the plans and purposes God has for each of us!