Just a Hint

I left with a small, but faithful crew to head to our summer camp and set up for the arrival of the crew tomorrow. The picture above is a hint from our stage set which we don't want to reveal until all of our campers and staff are here together. There are certain things we want to keep a secret as we head into an exciting week.

The truth is we don't know everything that is going to happen either. We have been preparing and planning for months and we still only have a hint of how the week will actually unfold. It's part of the excitement of camp to have a sense of anticipation and a touch of the unknown. This leaves plenty of room for God to work through our good (and even not so good) preparation. I only have a hint of what's going to happen and I am at peace with it.

Looking Forward

I always enjoy officiating weddings and being part of this momentous event for a couple. It's an honor to stand with them before God while they share in the bonds of covenant. My favorite moment of the day happens at the beginning of the ceremony when the bride enters. By now, I have already seen her and know how beautiful she is and I get to stand next to the groom when he sees her for the very first time. There is a great moment of anticipation as the doors open and she steps into the view of her soon-to-be-husband. It is powerfully special and breathtaking all at once. It's a moment he has been waiting for and will propel them into something new and wonderful.

While wedding days are sacred and special, I think we need more times of anticipation in our lives. We need to have something to look forward to that quickens our pulse and stretches our abilities. There should be an event on our horizon, a question to be answered, or a new way of thinking that creates energy and propels us forward. This helps us from becoming stale and generates challenges that heighten our anticipation for growth.

Don't Rush It

My family (and the rest of our mission team) will be in Arizona a week from now. We've been planning this trip for months and will soon find ourselves out west once again. There is a palpable energy of anticipation among the team as all our preparation becomes reality very soon. It's an exciting time to look forward to and while I want to get there quickly, I also don't want the experience to be over too soon. 

It's a regular part of human nature to want time to speed up to get us to the exciting things and then for it to slow down once we arrive there. Sadly, that isn't the way it works. Instead, we've got to be patient in the preparation and planning and enjoy the moments as long as they last. Hurrying through parts of our life will cause us to miss something important. Even if we repeat an event (like a yearly mission trip) each year is unique enough to merit its own special attention.

The Wait

Sometimes it seems like we've been waiting for Christmas forever. I remember when I was a child (and sometimes as an adult) that the wait almost seemed unbearable. It was hard to be patient as the days slowly rolled by leading up to the big celebration. There was a special kind of patient torture on Christmas Eve as I tried to sleep the night before opening up all our gifts. I'm still not quite certain how we made it through the wait which I was positive was going to make me explode with anticipation.

Anticipation isn't a terrible thing as long as we know we'll eventually get what we've been waiting for. I pray that this Christmas is everything you hoped (and waited) for it to be.

Peeking Ahead

I drove to Macon this morning and stopped at a little restaurant on the way called The Little Blue Box. I had been there a couple of times before and had been looking forward to having their pork chop, egg & cheese biscuit. It's kind of sad that I was anticipating something to eat quite so much, but I still managed to enjoy my breakfast (and will do so again when I make my way by there again.)

It's important to have some things to look forward to. It can be something simple like a good meal or watching a movie with your family. It's anticipating time on the front porch with your wife at the end of a long day. Sometimes it's just the comfort of knowing there is nothing planned for your day off. It  can even be a circle date on the calendar as you celebrate two friends marrying each other.

Positive anticipation fosters hope and gives us things to look forward to even on the most mundane days. Build the big and small events in and enjoy the moments when they arrive.