Growing up, the anticipation of the Christmas season always started when Grandma brought out the Wish books on a random Sunday after lunch was eaten and cleaned up. I can’t remember the exact timing of when these magical catalogs made their appearance, but surely it was in plenty of time for the standard 4-6 week shipping back then. Decades earlier than Amazon Prime and two day shipping, the wish lists had to be made and orders requested long before mid-December. The Sears catalog and the one from JcPenney were colorful and filled with all kinds of things for a girl to wish for. Grandma would give us all clean sheets of paper where we would carefully list the page and item number for each of our Christmas wishes. It wasn’t a task I took lightly. I would browse through each page and only after much contemplation would I write my list. I vividly remember writing down toys and Barbies when I was young and later moved into some late-80s fashion which certainly looked much cooler in the catalogs than on me.
For weeks, I would wonder which items from my list she would choose and have wrapped under the tree for me. The wait for Christmas was so long! But on Christmas Day, all of the anticipation vanished and was replaced with excitement and joy as Grandma passed out the gifts and my dreams became reality. Christmas was always worth the wait.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I stood in line at Hobby Lobby with a cart full of wrapping paper, bows, and red napkins. I overheard the customer at the register beside me. “Oh, I’m just finishing up last minute things,” she told the cashier. My head snapped in her direction in disbelief. We were still weeks out from Christmas and she was finished? I felt like I was doing great buying wrapping paper with weeks to go while also secretly wishing I could extend the time. With so much left to do, Christmas was coming way too fast for me.
What a stark contrast to my younger self who felt like the wait for Christmas lasted nearly forever. Now I was longing to extend the time because the days were flying by.
Imagine the wait before the first Christmas. God had promised the Messiah. Not a gift to be outgrown or passed down. But a Life-Changing, Life-Giving Savior. And His people waited with great anticipation. And they received silence. Hundreds of years of silence. Surely some of them grew cold or even gave up. But then there were those who kept waiting for Him. They passed down the Promise from generation to generation. Eager expectation and hope.
And then Christ came. He arrived as a Baby but became the Savior of the World. All of those years of waiting faded as the prophecies were fulfilled and lives were redeemed. He was certainly worth the wait.
It truly is remarkable to live in this age of grace as we once again wait for Jesus. But this time we’re not waiting for a Baby, but a King. Right now, we’re probably all wrapped up in presents and cookies and lights. Maybe we’re enjoying every second or possibly we’re trudging through to make it to December 26. Either way, in a week or two, the holiday distractions will be gone and life will be back to ordinary. It’ll be tempting to forget our expectation that we embraced at Christmas. Waiting on His return may seem like an elusive Sunday School story or an event too far in the future to consider. The wait may bring on weariness. Rather than growing cold, let’s be expectant in hope. Every cross we take up will be worth it. Each act of obedience we commit will be worth it. Whether words of praise or utterances of forgiveness, they will be worth it. Waiting for Him. He is worth it.
Merry Christmas, friends. Celebrate the season and enjoy the wait.
“You were good on Your Promise
Sent Your Son to our darkness
Savior of our souls He will light the way
Jesus You were worth the wait
Hear the hosts singing glory
See the star, this is holy
Creator of the world in a manger laid
Oh Jesus You were worth the wait
He will heal all the broken
Take back what the enemy has stolen
With a fire in His eyes and freedom in His name
Oh Jesus You were worth the wait
He will die so we don’t have to
And then He’ll rise to make a way through
Forgiven by His love and covered in His Grace
Oh Jesus You were worth the wait
Every heart come and adore Him
Every knee bow before Him
The King of every King
Forever You will reign
Oh Jesus You were worth the wait.”
“Worth the Wait” by Phil Wickham / Tyler Halford