Waiting, Anticipating and Preparing
Today is the birthday eve celebration of my baby girl. I always make a big deal about “eves”. “Happy Birthday Eve” I’ll text or say to my children. “Happy Thanksgiving Eve and Happy Christmas Eve” I’ll declare too! The day before and anticipating the “day of”. I well remember the day before my girl was born. We knew it would be tomorrow because my labor would be induced. I had been “nesting” as I moved closer to that birth date. Nesting is the word used when a pregnant woman or a mama bird or other mama animals get close to that day when her baby will arrive. Nesting is when a mama-in-waiting feels energetic and wants to clean and organize her entire home. It’s that overwhelming desire to get her home ready for her new baby.
Because I had a 2-1/2 year old little boy, I knew my new baby was going to take lots of extra time and energy. I wanted everything to be ready before the baby arrived. We didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl this second time. All I knew was the excitement and anticipation of that new bundle of joy, and the desire to have everything ready. In the late 60s ultra-sounds were just becoming popular, but I don’t remember being given that option. We just knew if a boy, he’d have the stately name of Robert Anthony. And if a little girl, she’d be named Staci Michelle, meaning “resurrection life” and “close to God”.
I had the nursery ready to go. All the clothes had been washed and folded in the little dresser drawers. The hanging diaper holder was packed full and everything else was organized for the soon arrival. Our home was clean. My bags, with the little white onesie (white worked for boy or girl) was packed and ready to go. The plans were all made for taking big brother to Granny & Papaw’s to stay until we came home with the new baby. Everything was ready in preparation for the big debut. The excitement was building.
And, here I am — still thinking about this day 52 years ago (WHAT? I couldn’t possibly be that old that I could have a 52-year-old!). Tomorrow I would see and hold the one who had been kicking and squirming inside me as well as giving me a twitching eye, swollen feet and heartburn. I could hardly wait to hold that one I had fallen in love with long before I would hold her. And her birth-day, the next day didn’t disappoint!
This beautiful season of Advent is about WAITING, preparing our hearts, and having our hearts transformed in anticipation of Christ’s birthday! Of course, we know He already abides in us, but taking this sweet season to refresh and revive our relationship with Him seems like the best thing we can do to celebrate His coming. In this “nesting” time, we can sweep out all the clutter and rid our hearts of all the excess stuff that’s been accumulating there. We can “Let every heart…prepare Him room”! Of course, we know He is no longer the baby in the manger but He is our risen Lord and King. This celebration is for royalty.
In my family, we make big celebration deals about birthdays. And getting ready to celebrate the birthday of Christ is a really big deal. After all, Christmas is about Him and the preparations for the party. We want our homes clean. We set out our best china and put up the Happy Birthday signs. We make sure we have candles for the cake. And that is what we’re doing in this season now. What better way to prepare for His birthday than thinking about what He means to us, how His arrival on this earth changed everything and about Him being Emmanuel — God with us — now and forevermore.
Oh come. Oh come. Emmanuel. And, Happy Birthday Eve to my baby girl who changed MY world and Emmanuel, so big in her, is changing this world with her life. Happy Birthday Eve, Staci Wallace!