Anticipation can make us feel giddy with excitement or sick with dread, depending on what we are anticipating! Perhaps the most notable thing about Christmas is that it’s all about birth, and as every parent knows, the birth of a baby is the end of a long period of waiting known as pregnancy. These days, a woman can discover she is pregnant very early on after only a few weeks, but a baby is normally born only after 37 or more weeks (unless premature.) That’s a long time to wait!
The miracle of scans means we can now see the baby’s form during pregnancy, but even so, there is a long period of anticipation for the family as they wait for the baby to actually be born. All eyes are usually on the ‘due date’, but babies rarely come on that exact date, so there can be waiting even after the date when the baby is expected! Nervousness, excitement, hope and apprehension are common feelings at this stage.
Hope is one of the key Advent themes. Paul says, ‘hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.’ (Romans 8:24-25) We have many things to hope for and wait for as we prepare for Christmas, but as with the birth of any baby, we know that pregnancy, the waiting period, won’t last for ever. The baby will be here soon!
