Anticipation

Anticipation, anticipation is making me late; it's keeping me waiting - Carly Simon

This year one of the activities during November weekend at Camp Chanco was zip lining.  If you don’t know what that is, imagine a thick cable stretched from a tree on one side of a ravine to a tree on the other side of the ravine.  Now imagine being hooked to that cable via a trolley that runs down the cable at very fast speeds.

One of the girls in my group began to have misgivings about participating as we walked to the first zip.  She had never done it before and had a lot of concerns.  What if the tree fell?  That tree looked unhealthy.  What if the cable broke?  She would plummet to the bottom of the ravine.  What if she died from fear?  Maggie Mahloy and I offered as much reassurance as we could; we probably talked with her for 15 minutes.  Still, she put herself at the end of the line of kids.  Even when she was hooked up to the cable I wasn’t sure she would go.  Then, off she went, flying down the cable, screaming all the way.  And of course, when she landed, she couldn’t wait to do it again!  She loved it!

As I watched this young girl anticipate her ride on the zip line, and then land on the other side full of joy, I thought about how we anticipate the coming of Christmas.  It’s hard not to get caught up in all the anxiety that comes with the Christmas holiday.  We have anxiety about getting everything done.  Will we get the presents purchased and wrapped in time?  Can we get our Christmas cards sent?  Will we remember all the people on our list?  Will the packages get mailed in time?  Even when we remind ourselves, and our friends and family remind us, that we need to enjoy the season, it’s hard to turn the anxiety off.  Sometimes the arrival of Christmas Day is a relief. 

We already know how Advent will end, with the birth of Christ our Savior.  We have nothing to fear.  What if we could just skip the anxiety?  What if the ride through December was exciting and new?  Like our camper, we would land on Christmas morning filled with joy, and ready to do it all over again.

Elizabeth Koerner

Interim Minister of Children & Youth