Now that’s not to say we weren’t anticipating Halloween - more than a few hours were spent ogling magazine pictures of fancy store-bought costumes and planning our home-made copies. And of course, Thanksgiving, with its built-in expectation of eating yourself into a stupor. But Christmas was the Big Day, combining the gluttony of Thanksgiving with the greed of Halloween in a wonderful melange of pseudo-religious (Saint Nick, anyone?) nervous anxiety. Plus edible decorations! Not to mention mangers and stars and wise men and shepherds in the annual Christmas Pageant.
So we began the Countdown. As I write this, I found a website that has an active countdown to Christmas, marking Days, Hours, Minutes, AND Seconds. (78 Days, 14 Hours, etc.) At this point in my life, that’s TMI (Too Much Information, Geezers). Days are quite sufficient, especially since it will still sneak up on me and catch me by surprise somehow anyway. Ah, the Desperate Hours of Christmas Eve picking-over-the-ruined-remnants Shopping! (Not that I’ve EVER done that for YOU, my sweet little Pie-maker!! Besides, Christmas Jerky is delicious.)
But as it is written, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Cor. 2:9
I’m looking forward to Heaven, and these Holiday SADs (Seasonal Affective Delights, to improve a phrase) are good training grounds for that. I suspect that if you’ve thought much about Heaven, you’ve thought of it in the sad and tired old fictional imagery of “Halos, Harps, and Happy Clouds” - none of which are mentioned in the only document with comments from actual inhabitants and visitors, the Bible. No, what you find in that Book are descriptions of a never-ending “Rave”, with music, dancing, and general celebrating. That’s definitely something worth counting down to, and maybe we should consider getting a little more “aerobic” with our worship, and little less “funeral parlor-esque” in anticipation. (smiley face goes here)
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ Matt 25:21
“...into the joy...”
Now that deserves some exclamation points! Getting into Heaven is getting Into The JOY. All the joys of Christmas’s past rolled up together with whipped cream, a cherry, AND sparklers is only a taste of the joys to come for those who love Him. Every day really is “another day closer”, and that’s worth counting down to!
