Advent All Year

I just came back from the grocery store. It’s about 5:00 p.m. and the weather folks are predicting an ice storm to come through tomorrow and stay through the weekend. So, you can imagine the foolishness that filled the grocery store. A young guy came up to me at one point and asked where the “scampi noodles” were located. Because, clearly, if you are about to be stuck in your house for days, you don’t want to be caught without your scampi noodles. Honestly, I had no clue what he was talking about. He said, “you know, like shrimp scampi noodles.” Isn’t scampi referring to the way the shrimp is cooked? Is that really a noodle? Either way, I was no help at all.

The reality is that it probably isn’t going to snow or ice or whatever anyway. Those weather people are never right. My grandpa would always say, “Better get my shovel ready. I’ll be shoveling that ‘no accumulation’ out of the driveway tomorrow morning.” A couple weeks ago, as the tornado sirens were going off, the weather guy said, “Don’t pay any attention to the sirens. They’re usually not right.” Oh, well. That’s comforting.

There was such an excitement in the store. Is there anything more exciting than the chance of snow at Christmas time? Isn’t that the happy ending of every Christmas movie? The older I get the more excited I get about, not just Christmas morning, but the whole advent season. The anticipation. The hope. The coming of the God child. I am reminded that this should be our state of mind all year long. We are the advent people living in a constant state of anticipation for his coming. We should live with bated breath knowing that the skies could split at any moment.

My prayer is that, when he comes, I will be able to say, “Yes, I have been expecting you.”