I got caught red-handed lying to my mom once when I was kid. Once was enough. I’m not saying I spent my childhood telling her the complete truth. I did not. I left out key details when I felt it was prudent or convenient for my desired outcome. Oh, but the one time.
I was about eight or nine and when asked directly if I had done the proper washing up before school that she had told me to do, I said, “yes.” That was a lie. She knew it before I even said it because the only washcloth that used that morning had been by her. Busted. I couldn’t double back and change my story. There was no way to fix it or get out of it. I was guilty and caught in my tracks.
I was expecting some immediate punishment, but it didn’t come. It was worse than that. She told me that punishment was coming but she would talk to my dad, who had already gone to work, and take the day to think about what exactly that should be. Oh no. There was no way that was going to end well for me. Why couldn’t she just spank me or something? It would’ve been over, and I could have moved on with my day.
Nope. That’s not how mom rolled. I went to school and spent the entire day dreading and anticipating what heinous punishment she was crafting just for me. It would surely be life-altering if she were taking all day. It turned out that there was a baseball game on television that night that I wanted to watch with dad. She made me sit in the bathtub the entire game.
Baseball games are, of course, known for their brevity. It was a long night. It was an effective punishment because I learned several lessons that day. The consequences of lying being one, and not wanting to tangle with mom was another.
Why am I telling you that story decades later? Because that single day years ago also taught me about a version of anticipation. Maybe a little about anxiety in that case, but I’m not traveling those roads today. We anticipate both bad and good things. We give them advanced thought. I spent that entire day thinking about what punishment was coming my way. Because she always did, I knew mom would follow through.
I’ve been thinking a lot about anticipation the last few days because we’re now squarely in the season of Advent. Advent begins the liturgical year on the Christian calendar. Many of you are familiar with the time of Scripture reading and the lighting of candles during church services prior to Christmas. That’s how I have mostly thought of Advent in the past.
Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming.” Christians celebrate the coming of Jesus. There was anticipation for His human birth hundreds of years before Christ was born. There is much anticipation for His return.
This Christmas season I am most focused on anticipating Jesus every day. Expecting Him to show up in my daily life. I want to do that unabashedly and wholeheartedly.
I find, as an adult at least, it can be easier to anticipate and prepare for the bad. We often curb our enthusiasm for the good stuff. We look forward but often do so through a veil of bracing for disappointment. Friend, Jesus follows through. He doesn’t disappoint. Church will disappoint you. People will disappoint you. I will disappoint you. Jesus will not.
Isaiah chapter 9 foretells of the birth of Christ. I like verse seven. “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”
Forever. He is the light in the darkness. He is the source of joy, and an everlasting peace. We can have the hope, love, peace, and joy that those candles we light represent. We can fully anticipate Jesus showing up for us because it’s who He is and what He does. We don’t have to curb our enthusiasm or filter our hope. When we seek Him, we find Him.
I pray that during this Christmas season, this time of advent, that we each will let our guard down enough to anticipate Jesus coming to our rescue every day. To rescue us from sin and death yes, but also from loneliness, weariness, anxiety, despair, confusion, doubt, and all the darkness that threatens to overwhelm us each day. Let’s be ready and prepared for the light that only Jesus provides.
I pray that we will anticipate Him each moment with the knowledge that He won’t disappoint. He will show.
Photo by Max Beck/Unsplash
