We No Longer Have To Wait

 

I must admit that I feel like I’ve been chasing the merry feeling of the season and haven’t quite been able to catch it.  

Busyness and my own inability to rest finally caught up with me in the form of stomach and respiratory viruses. It resulted in the kind of burn out that leaves you feeling like you could sleep for days. 

Yesterday, in the midst of more busyness, my family pulled off to the side of the road after catching a glimpse of an American bald eagle sitting on a branch outside of his nest. Locals in our area have been parking road side for months with telescopic lenses waiting for a glimpse of this majestic beauty and the possibility of eaglets arriving in the Spring. Just as a side note, my family has driven this road hundreds of times. We too have been stalking the nest, have gotten stuck by the train on this road almost EVERY single time (grrrrr) and we often joke about the cars parked roadside just waiting but not seeing. 

So there we were, stopping once again, but this time feeling lucky to finally be taking in this rare sight. 

And there I was....pressing my husband to leave after only a few seconds of observation, my husband reminding me that I am terribly impatient (deep sigh). My son also echoing his mother from the backseat asking why we needed to wait. 

We waited. 

And just when we were about to give up (after 30 seconds), it happened.  

That beautiful bird opened his wings and took flight, soaring above us and all around us, my children nearly squealing with delight. 

How many times have we driven by and pulled over waiting for a glimpse? And if we had not waited, we would have missed it. It felt like a gift.  

Tomorrow we will celebrate the birth of the One who put an end to our waiting. 

The One whose infant cry was both human and divine, piercing the darkness of our night and bringing light. 

If I could give you a gift this Christmas, it would be a reminder of this: 

His name means He Saves . 

From our darkness. From our weariness. From our lack of joy. From ourselves. 

We no longer have to wait. 

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