Titus 2:11-13 — For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.
I don’t remember much from 2010—except snow, applesauce, and the way waiting felt like electricity in my bones.
North Louisiana Februarys are built for crawfish boils and short sleeves, not winter weather. A single icicle can shut the place down. So when classes didn’t just pause but stopped, we knew this wasn’t normal. Teachers rushed to grade papers. Parents got early pickup calls. The Weather Channel flickered on the classroom TV.
This time it was the real thing. Snow.
I knew something else too. Tomorrow was my birthday.
My almost-eight-year-old brain filled with questions the way only a kid’s can when something good feels close. What does snow taste like? What does it smell like? Does it taste as good as it smells?
That night, sleep never stood a chance. Everything felt charged—like the world was holding its breath.
Before bed, Mom called me to the front door. We slipped outside quietly, leaving my brother asleep. The cold didn’t matter. Standing there, watching flakes drift down under the porch light, I realized I was seeing something I’d only heard about until then.
It was real, and it was incredible.
Mom wrapped me in a tight hug and leaned in close, her voice barely louder than the falling snow. “Happy Birthday.”
Years later, I think about that night often—not just because of the snow, but because of the waiting. The joy that showed up before the gift fully arrived.
Scripture names that longing. Titus 2:11–13 says that “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people… training us to wait for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Grace doesn’t just rescue us; it teaches us how to wait.
Isn’t it amazing that God builds anticipation into our faith on purpose. Right now, we only catch hints. We taste and touch and smell traces—like snow the night before your birthday. But one day, we won’t be reaching for shadows of His goodness anymore. We’ll live inside it.
God gives us small joys to prepare us for greater ones. The preview is not the prize—but it keeps us leaning forward. And those moments aren’t random. They are reminders.
Grace doesn’t just save us; it sustains us while we wait. It trains our hearts to live faithfully in the present while keeping our eyes on what’s still ahead.
God gives us glimpses—not to tease us, but to prepare us. So maybe today isn’t about chasing the next big thing. Maybe it’s about noticing the quiet ways God is teaching you to hope.
Because the best really is coming, so let anticipation do its work.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Where in my life am I tired of waiting?
- Do I see waiting as wasted time — or as training?
- What small glimpses of God’s goodness has He already given me?
- Am I living only for what’s next, or faithfully in what’s now?
- How is grace shaping the way I live today?
- What would it look like to let anticipation deepen my hope instead of frustrate it?
- Do I truly believe that the best is still ahead?