Anticipation

Last year during Advent I was only a few months pregnant with Faustina. My mind was absorbed with anticipation of this new little person coming into the world. I clearly remember Saturday December 1st last year; it was a beautiful day with the snow lightly falling and I spent the day decorating the house. Mike was doing other chores and as we enjoyed each others’ company I arranged the nativity scene, set Christmas trinkets around the house, put lights and ornaments on the tree, and listen to Christmas choir music. I kept thinking, "Next year at this time we will have a 6 month old baby in the house!" Basically I walked around the house the whole day with a permanent smile on my face as thoughts wheeled through my mind about the many changes to come in the next year and excited about all the variables of the birth, what the child would be like, how life would change, starting a family, staying home and the list continues. It is hard to capture in words the feelings of excitement, anticipation, a bit of fear of the unknown, faith, and other emotions I was experiencing. As I look back over the past year I see how richly the Lord has blessed Faustina and our family – the anticipation I felt last December was appropriate!

As I think about that day last year, I can translate those same feelings to the Advent season this year. I am eagerly waiting for the birth of our Lord. God is coming to our world as a little baby to live here on earth so that we can know him in a new way – in a tangible way so that we can imitate his acts, words, his person. Here our world is 2000 years later and look how much he has changed the world; it is wonderfully inconceivable to think of what extraordinary things he has in store for us as we live each day.

What anticipation Mary must have felt!! “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.”

Thank you, Lord, for this season of Advent. Give us the grace to faithfully come before you each day to offer ourselves to you; give us a purity of heart to welcome you again into our lives on December 25th!