Last time we looked at the benefits of embracing anticipation. It impacts our mood and overall well-being when we learn to appreciate the art of looking forward to something. So many times, people, kids especially, view delayed gratification as a negative or even as a punishment.
I remember as an elementary kid, my grandmother promising to buy me a baseball glove. She took me to look at them, we talked about what would work best for me, and I dreamed of that day we would buy it. Here I am a zillion years later, and that purchase is still pleasantly anchored in my memory. But what about my grandkids? We are so quick to make purchases for them, which we do out of love, but I doubt they can hardly remember who gave them what and when. We need to be reminded that waiting and anticipating can be a very good thing.
Even more importantly, we can look forward to what the Lord has in store for those who know Him. I have a couple of friends who have been battling cancer and are now in Hospice care. In both cases they are experiencing a great sense of peace as they are ready to leave their fragile bodies and meet Jesus face to face.
Peter wrote in I Peter 1:4 that we can anticipate the obtaining of “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.” I relish the sound of that and look forward with great anticipation for that day. I hope you are able to as well.