Anticipating...Waiting...Hoping

But the Master said, "You don't need more faith.  There is no 'more' or 'less' in faith.  If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, 'Go jump in the lake,' and it would do it." -Luke 17:6

One of the greatest gifts of my sweet Grandmama was her ability to needlepoint.  For someone like myself who knows the best place to take a pair of pants with a missing button, sewers like Grandmama can be considered AMAZING!!!  In my home, at this time of year, hangs a display of her beautiful work.  I can remember, as a little girl, the excitement of placing each ornament on the tree.  The "countdown to Christmas Eve" was a time of overwhelming joy.  Pocket number 24 held the sparkling angel, and her placement on the tree meant one thing as a child.  For the younger me, the arrival of the angel signified Santa Claus was comin' to town!  For my sister and me, tomorrow morning would look and feel different in our home.

This is the first year that my 14 year-old son and 19-year old daughter did not place every ornament on the tree.  In fact, it was me who woke each morning, tried to remember what day it was, reached into the tiny pocket, placed the ornament on the tree and felt an overwhelming stress at how few days of shopping were left!  This season, when I reached pocket #13, I questioned my sanity in doing this.  I remember thinking to myself, "Dear Lord Baby Jesus, why are we moving through this calendar faster this year?!?"

This morning, as I placed the sparkling angel at the top of the tree, I reflected on this reality: Anticipating and waiting is hard.  It is an element of the Christmas story that we don't really discuss in detail.  Simeon's waiting to see the Messiah, with his own eyes, was hard.  The long journey of the 3 wise men was hard and grueling.  3, an uneven number, likely meant there was one wise man who just didn't want to keep following that yonder star.  Can you imagine the words exchanged during their 800 mile trip?   However, woven into the tapestry of these men's' journeys was faith.  Their faith, perhaps bare at times, kept them moving forward.

This Christmas season, so many in my beautiful circle of family/friends are anticipating and waiting.  Some are waiting for cancer treatments to end.  Others are waiting to find a "pocket of peace" in their journeys of grief.  Some are anticipating a day when they will wake up and things will simply look and feel different in their homes.  This is what my heart has come to know - In those moments of anticipating and waiting, hope is born.  It is our hope.  It is our faith.  It is our belief in His presence that carries us through.  Today, may you celebrate the simple truth of Luke 17:6.  Your faith, no matter how bare and messy this holiday season, is enough.  Pray as you wait. Believe in His promises.  Celebrate your hope in Him.  Amen.