I won’t let my son open his Christmas presents, and it’s really chapping his hiney.

He knows they are in the house, because he’s seen the packages arrive on the doorstep from Amazon. He knows they are here, hidden just out of his five-year-old reach. The thought that he could be enjoying those gifts right now is maddening to him. He doesn’t care that opening them now would mean no presents on Christmas morning. He just wants the presents, and finds it absolutely ridiculous to have to wait to open a gift for the sake of a holiday. (We went through the same thing with his birthday presents).

My daughter, on the other hand, understands the meaning of anticipation. The counting down, the mystery of the hidden gifts, the savoring of the season…she’s old enough to understand that part of the fun is in the expectation of it all. The waiting, the hoping, the daydreaming about the feeling of opening those presents makes the enjoyment last for a month, not just the mad minute of unwrapping.

Advent is all about waiting. The whole Old Testament, from Eve to Elizabeth, is about the Jewish people waiting for the Messiah. It’s all about their hope, their expectation, their anticipation of the Savior who would bring light to the darkness, freedom to the prisoners, joy to the despairing.

Come to think of it, the whole New Testament is about waiting, too. After Jesus ascended into heaven, we’ve all been waiting for him to come back, to bring us from this dark world to the light of heaven.

So to sum things up, throughout the history of the world there have been maybe 33 years where we haven’t been waiting for Jesus: the 33 years he spent on earth. But can we even count those years? Even when he was here, most of the world didn’t recognize him as the promised Messiah.

When I think about how my children wait, long, pine, and beg for Christmas, it reminds me that I’m waiting, too. Their fervor for Christmas is a beautiful, in-my-face picture of what we’re all doing year-round. Being a believer means I’m a wait-er. Just like all the believers in the Bible, I’m constantly waiting for Jesus to come. I’m from a long, ancient line of waiters. It’s what we do this side of heaven.

So what do I do while I’m waiting? First, I remember that I’m waiting, because when I do it gives me perspective. This world isn’t the point, and that changes my attitude about a lot of things. Second, I remember that I’m waiting for a good reason. God put me here to be a waiter. There’s a reason for my existence at this time and at this place. He’s working it out for my good. And finally, God is making me wait here so that I can tell other people about him and his love.

Both of my children are excellent waiters, even if their styles are completely different. One is focused and unwavering, the other is hopeful and excited. I want all of those qualities when I’m waiting for Jesus. I want to wait with all the tenacity of my son, who constantly thinks about those Christmas gifts just beyond reach. I want to wait with joyful expectation like my daughter, who patiently trusts my promise to deliver the gifts Christmas morning.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that^h the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But 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.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whoⁱ have been called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:22-28