Advent Devotional - December 21

Carlo Maratta

Dec. 21, thirty-seven years ago, I was living in Grand Junction, Colorado, expecting my first child. The final few weeks of my pregnancy were filled with waiting and expectation. I waited for that first contraction. What would it really feel like? I awaited my weekly doctor’s appointment, one day closer. I waited to hold my baby in my arms, gaze into those eyes, and welcome him into the World.

The night Isaac was born, I remember holding my him in my arms. I felt a flood of emotion. The waiting was over, and he was perfect. Sitting in my hospital bed, I heard music begin to fill the air. Three nurses and two doctors working the night shift gathered around my bed and sang. “Silent Night, Holy Night all is calm, all is bright.”  The tears began to flow.

I cannot help but think of how Mary had also been waiting and expecting her baby, the Son of God to be delivered. How she must have felt holding her baby in her arms as the angels sang to the shepherds, proclaiming His birth:

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”  - Luke 2:14

Advent.  A time of expecting something wonderful to happen.

Connie Rakiecki