Wonders of His Love

Life involves a lot of waiting.

There’s the day-to-day waiting—waiting in line at the grocery store, waiting in the doctor’s office, waiting in traffic, waiting for payday, waiting for our “turn...” Then there’s waiting on a larger continuum—waiting for our children to grow up, waiting for the tide to change, waiting for our ship to come in (a result of the changing tide?), waiting for answers to prayers, waiting for a new season of life…

During the crazy years when my children were younger, I often put off doing things, telling myself I was waiting until I had more time. For instance, I’ve been telling myself and God for years that I just wasn’t in a place where I could feasibly have an early morning, one-on-one devotional time with him. After all, I had to get kids to school, then myself to work. Plus, I’m really not a morning person…He knows that, right? But now I’m out of time, so to speak, and a few weeks ago He told me in no uncertain terms that 6 a.m. was going to be our time. And do you know what? He’s taking our time together and multiplying it exponentially. The blessings are flowing, and I thank Him for His patience with me all these years.

I’ve also passed up some opportunities to explore life over the years, setting them aside until I had more time. I was always on a mission down the beaten path, and the side roads had to wait. But this weekend my daughter and I took a quick trip to visit my mom and on the way we enjoyed a couple of diversions I’d put off time and time again. In Luray Hannah asked, “What is that huge tower we always pass?”

I didn’t know, so we took an extra half hour to explore the Luray Singing Tower, a majestic stone tower that houses a carillon of 47 cast bronze bells and is surrounded by public park land. Appropriate for the season, the inscription on the largest bell reads, “GLORY TO GOD, PEACE ON EARTH, GOOD WILL TO MEN.”

Before we got to Mom’s house we also stopped at Central Coffee Roasters® in Sperryville, Virginia. It was only 20 minutes from our destination and I had always wanted to stop there, but just never took the time. It would have been worth it just to breathe in the heavenly fragrance of freshly roasted coffee beans, but of course I left with a pound of Panama beans, as well.

When I was a child, Christmas seemed to be more about waiting than any other day of the year. My sister Ellen and I each had a stuffed Santa, and as soon as the Christmas decorations were unpacked I would ceremoniously prop mine up on my bed, sleeping with him curled in the crook of my arm until Christmas morning. I would whisper my secrets in his plastic ear and remind him of my wish list each night, as I waited with growing impatience for "the big day."

Now Thanksgiving is over, and I have no excuse left to put off my Christmas preparations. I don’t sleep with my Santa anymore, but I do put him out as a reminder not to cry or pout during the frenzied weeks ahead. And the older I get, the less Christmas is about Santa and the more it’s about the Messiah.

Today was the first Sunday in the liturgical season of Advent. Advent means “coming,” and as Christians we’re reminded to be preparing our hearts for His coming, once as a baby in a manger, and soon as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace that we so long for. Our annual celebration of the birth of the Christ isn’t just a sweet story we relive each year, but the past truth our future hope is rooted in.

Let every heart prepare Him room.

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

~ Isaiah 9: 2, 6-7 (NIV)

Waiting on "Baby Cheesus"

Christmas decorating is an evolutionary process in my house. If you’re not paying close attention, you won’t even notice it happening. Then one day (typically the week before Christmas) you’ll look around and think, “Hey, when did all of this happen?”

But there are a couple of decorations that I put out right after Thanksgiving, regardless of my crazy schedule and tendency to procrastinate. My Nativity scene is one of those.


Funny, but I still think of it as my father’s Nativity scene, even though it’s been in my possession for most of my adult life. Maybe I feel that way because it’s the one he purchased from Sears over 40 years ago and he never, ever let me or my sister arrange the paper mache people and animals, no matter how much we begged. If we moved one of the sheep even a fraction of an inch to the left when he wasn’t looking, he noticed and immediately put it back in its proper place. He would, however, let us wind up the music box – artfully camouflaged under the hay in the stable – and listen to “Away in a Manger” one time each night before Christmas.

I guess it’s really no surprise that, although I really tried to be more free with my own children and let them arrange everyone the way they saw fit, I would always go back after they went to bed and rearrange them the “right” way. Sheep have to stay with the shepherd – there’s no integration of livestock in my Nativity scene. The wise men stick together. Mary is on the right, Joseph's on the left. And everyone, animals included, are all gazing in awe and adoration at the babe in the manger who is, of course, front and center. Oh, and the angel hangs on a nail, hovering perfectly centered over the stable.

Hannah, my non-compliant child, insisted on rearranging the whole tableau every day, sometimes more than once. In her mind, the goal was to get everyone, even the cow, as close as possible to the Christ child. I’ve never read anything in the New Testament to indicate Jesus was claustrophobic, but if He was her scene would have explained it. Hannah was also responsible for placing the camel in the baby's place while the baby was hanging out with the angel up on the roof.

My son Ben, on the other hand, was fine with my arrangement. His only quirk was his inability to pronounce “Jesus.” It was always an exciting moment when we carefully unwrapped and placed the “Baby Cheesus” in the manger.

The Nativity scene has been displayed several different places in our home over the years, but most recently it has been safely tucked away in the bookcase. This placement was due, in large part, to me losing my mind one year when the children were younger and arranging the Nativity scene on an end table in our living room. I didn't realize it until it was too late, but this table was right in line with the hall, making it fair game for Hannah and Ben’s game of, “run down the hall as fast as you can and skid across the hardwood floor in the living room.” To this day Hannah maintains that everything would have been fine if she hadn’t been wearing her blanket as a cape. I still grieve for the donkey’s ear…

I treasure my Nativity scene, not only for its rich history, but for the beautiful story it depicts. And even though my children think they’re “too old” to get excited about unwrapping the pieces, I still take great pleasure in setting up it up.

Ironically, it makes me a little sad that no one sneaks behind me and changes it up when I’m not looking. I’ve come to realize that it really doesn’t matter where everyone else is, as long as “Baby Cheesus” is in the middle. I’ve heard people say they keep their baby figurine hidden away until Christmas Day and then they bring him out and place him in the manger. But for me, that’s a little too close to the way the world operates, bring the baby out at Christmas, only to wrap him up in a scrap of cloth and pack Him away for the rest of the year.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’” ~ Luke 2:8-12 (NIV)

Advent is a funny thing… While we’re awaiting the birth of Jesus, my “Baby Cheesus” lives, front and center, all year long. I’m awaiting His return, even as I’m thankful He’s already come. And the last thing I want to do is hide Him away until next Christmas.