Anticipation

Nearly 10 months ago, during the season of Lent, we were anticipating the news that we were pregnant. On the morning of Easter Sunday, we found out that we were indeed expecting a baby.
Here we are all these months later, during the season of Advent, anticipating the birth of our first born child. (We do hope its born before Christmas though...)
Both of these two seasons have been my favorite times of year. I love the anticipation of things to come, although I'm not nearly as patient for them to occur as I would hope. Its amazing to me, how these two major events (Easter and Christmas) have weeks of anticipation and preparation in their lead up. Its similar to preparing yourself for a baby. You spend time getting the room ready and preparing your body for childbirth.
This year at Church they are talking about time and what you do to prepare yourself for the big event. This Christmas will be a special time for us, as our lives are somewhat parallel to that of Mary and Joseph's. I can just imagine Mary's desire to meet her child and her need for a donkey to carry her around. You can sense Joseph's anticipation, fear and excitement as he looks for a place to safely welcome his son into the world. And you can feel the joy and celebration of shepherds and wise men as they rejoice over the birth, much like our friends and family will rejoice over our baby's safe arrival.
As we anticipate the arrival of our baby, we also anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus. We have much to look forward to this year!