Journeys 12-24-06

Journeys 12-24-06 Christmas Eve

“Are we there yet?”

“Almost, but not yet.”

I thought about those childhood car conversations as I remembered asking “How many days until Christmas?” - to our children during their time in worship a couple weeks ago. One brother answered with the exact number of days. The other brother sighed, rolled his eyes, threw up his arms and said, “A trillion.” I’d forgotten how two weeks can seem like forever to a four year old. Our children have been waiting forever for Christmas to come. Now, we’re almost there.

Our family has this running joke about time. In our cell phone age, there are the constant questions back and forth over the air ways, “Where are you? When will you be home?”

Here’s where the code comes in. My children have determined that when Mom and Dad say, “I’m just leaving.” That means 30 minutes. “I’m on my way” =’s twenty minutes. “I’m just pulling in.” =’s 15 minutes.

When we’re all in the car and somebody has to go to the bathroom, “We’re almost there.” – can mean anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes. That’s where we are today. “We’re almost there.” “Can you hold it?”

Lots of families get together to exchange gifts today. For many this whole weekend has been a rotation from one grandparent to another. My physical therapist has five family places to go to today and tomorrow. (You get to know somebody when you’ve worked with them three days a week, an hour each time, for the past six months!).

Today is still about anticipation, expectation, and waiting. Tomorrow, after the 2-20 minutes of unwrapping, the Christmas Moment will be over. My hope is that this annual exercise in expectation will once again strengthen our relationship with God. Stretching our waiting muscle reminds us how God works. God may not be on the same time schedule as us, but eventually, God keeps God’s promises. Today, we remember that when we ask, “God where are you?” – sometimes, God says, “I’m just pulling in.”

Grace & Peace,