“Time always seems long to the child who is waiting  – for Christmas, for next summer, for becoming a grownup: long also when he surrenders his whole soul to each moment of a happy day.”  Dag Hamarskjold

Advent is a season of waiting and preparation – a time of repentance and reflection.  As we await the birthday of the Savior of the world, we need to take time to recall the reason for season.

The children of Israel waited for centuries for Him.  Countless prophecies are woven through the Old Testament which clearly described how He would be conceived, where He would be born, the kind of life He would live, the price He would pay to redeem them.   How they could have missed Him, but just how will we receive Him when He returns.

As children wait with anxious hearts for Christmas, the anticipation often clouds the true reason for the waiting. Why must we wait?  Why can’t we simply have Jesus with us right now?  We grow weary.  Patience wears thin and life can become futile at times.  Many times we simply give up.

The fact is, we do have Jesus with us right now.  He’s our breath and life – our oxygen.  He came to us in the form of a tiny baby, grew up and played in the streets of Nazareth with other little boys, He lived a life of poverty, felt every blister as he worked alongside his step dad.  He was frowned upon by the elite – nothing good ever came from Nazareth. He gathered a flock of followers who were not only intrigued by His words, but captivated by His presence. He waited for just the right moment to fulfill the work He was destined to do.  He suffered and died, but he rose from death and lives eternally – just as we will when we leave this world.

Life can jab at us in ways that torment and beat us up, but Jesus went through so much more so that we could receive the greatest gift ever.

I CAN’T WAIT!