Advent and Epiphany

We celebrated Christmas in Philadelphia this year, our first Christmas away from normal family celebrations in Tennessee. I am 37 weeks pregnant in this picture, sitting in our new rocking chair (given to us, free!) in front of our poor Christmas tree that suffered nightly attacks and abuses from our cat, Smokey. If you look closely, you may notice NO ornaments, garlands, anything on the bottom quarter of the tree--our attempts to protect the tree's dignity from Smokey. It didn't really work; I am still trying to locate Smokey's stash of ornaments because at last count we are missing some.

Though Christmas was truly a wonderful and surprising blessing to us, I have to say that Advent and Epiphany have been more meaningful to me this year. Advent is the season when we prepare ourselves for God's revelation of love and new life, when we live in expectation of the fulfillment of God's promises to us--"the hopes and fears of all our years are held in thee tonight". Epiphany is when God's promises are revealed in a majestic announcement with triumph and humble reverence. Can you imagine being Mary, sitting in the midst of animal funk and food and accepting exotic and expensive gifts from strange and breath-taking kings who traveled a great distance just to see your baby?

Being pregnant during Advent and now Epiphany makes it so real to us--how magnificent are God's promises! How stunning are the expectations that we have of God during this time as we prepare for this wonderful blessing! And the waiting for the fulfillment of these promises are causing lip-quivering, cringing days lived in suspense--when is she going to get here?!

And it seems that she will almost never arrive. Though we are only two days away from her approximated "due date", I have already entertained the medical possibility of being pregnant forever, but have been assured by mothers everywhere and Wikipedia that she will eventually arrive, and precisely on time according to God's watch.

God's timing is so amazing, and it simply isn't possible to know when he will fulfill his promises. You can only know that he will.

When she arrives, I don't expect to see any kings or dignitaries coming to visit her, but I do suspect that there will be angels singing songs of praise and announcements of great joy over her coming -- another of God's precious daughters has come into this world to fulfill the promises God has placed inside of her. Hallelujah!