This time of year, if you want a study in eagerness, all you have to do is take a look at children. Okay, if mine are the example, then looking at them anytime will give you a study in eagerness. =) At times, all that anticipatory energy can be exhausting. But sometimes, it can be so very inspiring, can’t it?
I love that kids can be just as excited about a day of service as they are about a birthday party. That reading a book to their younger sibling is as much a cause for celebration as a trip to the ice cream shop. I love that making their father a Christmas present is as awesome for them as opening one of their own.
I love that they take such Joy from life–not just from the big things, but from the little. I love how they look forward to watching that new movie just as much the fifth time as the first. I love that they are always so eager for the things they love, no matter the work involved in getting them.
And I love that Jesus uses them as the example of how our faith should be.
I sometimes wonder when we lose that eagerness, that full-out Joy. I’m sure I’ve wondered it here before. But as an adult, it’s so easy to worry too much to enjoy things. To look at things like Christmas cookie baking as a time-consuming must instead of anticipated fun. It’s easy to look at all the holiday activities and see only the minutes and hours adding up–and counting down–and get stressed wondering how to fit it all in. It’s easy to look at that gift you want to get someone but can’t afford and feel disappointed.
And it’s so, so easy to forget to be eager about our faith. Sure, we talk about the Reason this time of year. But are we excited about it? Are we eager for Him every day of the year? Do we jump up and down for him morning after morning, like a four-year-old asking for his favorite breakfast?
This year, though I’m under deadline and anticipating a move and overall busier than usual this Christmas, I keep getting hit with this enormous gratitude for the enthusiasm of my children. It leaves me exhausted, but it reminds me of what matters. Of how I should be greeting the world. Of how I should be living my faith.
It reminds me of how my heart should be before the Lord–all-out, bubbling-over, squealing with delight joyful.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
"And it's so, so easy to forget to be eager about our faith."
So true! Thanks for the reminder to let my heart be filled with eagerness. And merry Christmas! 🙂
Merry Christmas, Roseanna. An exciting time for making a special gift, giving from the heart. Enjoyed your post. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
This post made me smile. That enthusiasm is something else, isn't it? May we "catch" it too.