Anticipation
I very nearly embarrassed myself in Sunday School this week... I was referencing joy in our
current study, and mentioned we'd discussed it previously in two other scripture studies. "Here
we go again," I said, and a song lyric came to mind, as it often does, and out it came from my
mouth before I could fully stop it. "Here I am again...'" Whitesnake!?! Whitesnake! "Here I am
again, on my own, going down the only road I've ever known..." Where on earth in the recesses
of my mind had I stored that!?! Thankfully, my friend Heather finished singing the rest of the
chorus for me so I didn't feel hung out on the proverbial limb. "Don't leave me hangin', sis!"
And she didn't. We had a good laugh about it.
Memory is a funny thing. I was standing by the Christmas tree this morning thinking of past
years. (I'm sure watching A Christmas Carol last night had absolutely nothing to do with a trek
down memory lane this morning... No ghosts of Christmas past to torment me, thank you very
much.) The memory that surfaced was of my mother.
One year, she requested that I make her a quilt for Christmas. She wasn't one to ask for things,
and if you asked her what she wanted for Christmas she'd just say, "Oh, I have everything I
need." But this particular year, she'd found a piece of fabric that she thought was beautiful. It
had a light background with swirls of light blue vines and the faint outlines of Greek-styled
gazebos with large bouquets of flowers in sage greens, reds, pinks and mauves, and yellows
overlaid among the vines. It wasn't my taste, but she loved flowers. She grew all kinds of
flowers and ornamentals in her yard, and I believe she loved the piece of fabric because she
could enjoy the florals through the winter months when darkness and cold weather made her
blue.
I'm an avid quilter, or I should say, an avid quilt-top maker. A quilt is made up of three
layers-a top, a filling or batting, and a backing-and she wanted the fabric with the bouquets
to be the top. Could I quilt it for her? "I'm not looking for anything fancy," she encouraged.
"But I would like a thin batting because I don't want the cover to be too heavy."
I checked my fabric stash, and I had a small-scale sage checked fabric that would work for the
backing, and I had a thin batting that would add warmth without bulk to the finished quilt. I
layered and pinned the top, batting, and backing, and set to work to finish it in time for
Christmas.
Quilting is a time-consuming process. When you purchase a homemade quilt, understand that it
takes weeks, and sometimes, months to produce a finished product. A popular quilt show on
public television back in the day was called "Quilt in a Day." But that was more hyperbole than
reality. I don't know that I've ever completed even a doll quilt in a single day, much less a
queen-sized bed cover. I warned my mother that it was likely that she'd get an IOU for her
Christmas gift that year.
Christmas Eve arrived, and we bundled up our gifts to take to Mom's house for dinner and the
family gift exchange. As I walked in the door, she saw the shoebox-sized package I carried with
her name on it, and crestfallen, she said, "I guess I won't be getting my quilt this year."
Anticipation... another of those old songs that I end up singing in my head when I hear the
word. According to the Cambridge dictionary it means "a feeling of excitement about
something that is going to happen in the near future. The opposite of anticipation is disillusion,
or confusion or doubt.
I wonder if the Hebrew people were knee-deep in the opposite of anticipation when the Christ
child came along? After hearing the prophecies for hundreds of years, being conquered by a
succession of changing empires, and finally being under the thumb of Rome, the hope of a
coming Messiah had to be cast in doubt. Four hundred years of silence from God-with no new
revelations, no new prophetic visions, nothing but the stories of the old ones and the words
recorded in history-Messiah had to seem like it would never come to be.
I think we feel some of that kind of frustration when we are building a business or making life
changes. There is a thing out there, a promise, the hope that you'll be able to do something you
love, be productive, make money for your family. And it never seems to happen fast enough.
Or you have a vision. I was driving home one night, listening to a message about "such a time
as this" and had an image, fully-drawn, drop into my spirit about what was possible, and as time
passes, the hope of that vision, the dream of it, gets dulled with age. Did I really hear the
words? Did I really see the possibilities? Will this ever come to fruition?
That had to be the doubt that Israel felt when Jesus burst on the scene. He took great pains to
reveal that he was indeed all that the prophecies foretold, but he wasn't packaged the way they
expected. A military king, a conqueror, was their hope. Jesus came as an infant, in the little
village of Bethlehem, with animals and lowly shepherds to celebrate his arrival, and His
mission was to be King of a different Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God.
One of my favorite verses is Romans 8:19. It says, "All creation waits in eager expectation for
the sons and daughters of God to be revealed." That's anticipation. Listen to how Paul unpacks
this anticipation in the New Living Translation (verses 19-25):
19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his
children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with
eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in
glorious freedom from death and decay... We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when
God will give us our full rights as his adopted children,[a] including the new bodies he has
promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have
something, we don't need to hope[b] for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we
don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
When I read that all creation waits in eager expectation, I don't think it is limited to plants and
animals. I believe the people around us who have NO hope are also waiting in eager
expectation, anticipation, for God's children to be revealed. For this reason, the way we do life
and business matters for them. Our life and business become an avenue through which they can
see God-the God who keeps His promises, loves with an everlasting love, renews us day by
day, prepares us for that Great Day when we are permanently released from death and decay.
We were given this hope when we were saved. All creation longs for this hope.
How we package it, though, can be disappointing. Like my little momma, who saw my
shoebox, and lost hope that she'd receive a quilted floral bouquet for the long winter months,
people see us do life and business the way the world does, characterized by fear-fear of aging,
or sickness or suffering or poverty or lack or being left out or not being popular or fear of what
people think, or fear for the future- or they see us consumed with the propaganda of prosperity
and worldly success-that you can only be happy by accumulating wealth or things or
experiences- that in no way reflect the Kingdom life of joy and peace that Jesus died to give
us. We wrap ourselves up in shiny packages that blend in with the rest of the empty boxes that
the world offers.
I find myself under conviction that I'm more often shine than substance. More often self-reliant
than God-trusting. That I'm more self-centered, than God-sourced. I'm an ambassador for the
Kingdom, after all. And all creation is holding its/their breath, waiting to see what Hope looks
like so they can become part of that Kingdom, too. They've got shiny nonsense all around them.
They are looking for more. It makes me think of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indie
chooses the cup of a carpenter to drink from the fountain of eternal life. I pray I will choose the
humble life of Jesus as my package so that others can see and receive Life.
So, back to my memory. My little momma unwrapped my shoebox, and gasped. Inside was her
floral spread, rolled up into a compact tootsie-roll shape, ready to be flung over her bed, and to
be enjoyed the rest of her days. She passed away the following spring. How grateful I am that I
persevered, finished the quilt, and gave it to her in a surprise package. Her joy made mine
complete.
How grateful I am that Jesus came in an unexpected package. I look forward to the day He will
be revealed in all His glory when He returns. Anticipation. Anticipation... it's keeping me way-
ay-ay-ay-ay-ting.
Father,
Thank you for the Hope we have in Jesus. Thank you for the reality of the Life we have in Him.
I pray we know Him more and more, and that our lives reflect His life. That people see our
good works and glorify You in Heaven!
Thank you for this time of year when we stop and reflect on the package that Jesus arrived in,
that the Word put on flesh and tabernacled among us, fully human in every way in order that He
might become a merciful and faithful high priest. I pray, Father, that we live worthy of the
calling we have received, and that others would come to know You as they see Jesus in us.
In His sweet and holy name we pray, Amen.
Check out the show notes for a link to a picture of my Mom's quilt. When she passed away, it
returned to me. That Christmas memory is precious to me, and a reminder that the most
valuable things often cannot be purchased at any price.
I pray God blesses you this Christmas Season and that the New Year brings you closer to Him,
and that you experience Him in every more fruitful ways!
I would love to hear from you! Leave a review and a rating... I've not heard anything new since
October! Let me know that this content is a blessing to you (or not!) I am so grateful that you
listen; without you, I couldn't do what God has created me to do! Thank you so much!
