In Walt Disney's Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket sings out in a high tenor voice, “When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, everything your heart desires will come to you.  Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through, when you wish upon a star your dreams come true.”

It's a sentimental song for many of us, as we'd all like to have our wishes come true. And what would we wish for? We would wish ourselves something magical. It might be to have someone back who was special in our lives. It might be to recapture a time of real happiness.  It may be that our wish is for a return to a moment that holds a special time in our hearts.

For me it was an October moment that lasted 20 or 30 minutes as I walked around the campus of the former college for officer training in Toronto. It was October 1995, and my wife, Wendy, and sons Jason and Philip and I had travelled there for two significant events. My parents had returned to Canada from International Headquarters and were staying for a short time in an apartment at the College for Officer Training.  At the same time, my sister was being married and our family was gathering for this great celebration.

There was, as at most family weddings, a great deal of excitement and activity. But for these 20 or 30 minutes, I went for a walk with my Dad and my two boys. As October does, it had brought a musty smell to the air and a crunchy carpet of leaves for our feet to rustle through.  The conversation was mostly between Jason, our talker, and his grandfather. As they walked, Jason took two steps for every one of his grandfather.

In the distance some of the city noises could have been heard, but as I remember it, thankfully it was only a very distant sound. In those moments the sounds were mostly intimate ones. The kind that can only be heard when three generations go for a walk.

The cricket's song is sentimental. Perhaps you've listened, or even sung it thinking about some magical moment. Perhaps wishing is enough for you. Perhaps singing about wishes is enough for you. But I've been thinking about another song. A song sung by not a cricket, but an old man. His name is Zechariah.

Zechariah lived in Jerusalem and his wish and hope had been expressed in this daily prayers. He was looking for and expecting God to fulfill his promise. You see, hundreds of years before Zechariah, God had promised that he would send someone to save his people and to restore the Kingdom of God.

The occasion of Zechariah's song was another family event—the dedication of Joseph and Mary's son, Jesus. It was at this time that God's Spirit spoke to Zechariah.

Here is the promise of God. Not a wish for a better time or even a better life, but a promise. Two thousand years later we too sing a song: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King.”

If you are fortunate enough you might get to sing this song together as a multi-generational family. But no matter your circumstances, the promise of God has no expiry date.

Major Fred Waters is an Area Commander in the Prairie & Northern Territories Division. Edmonton and the north is his perspective presently on family, friends and ministry. Fred enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and gardening. Together with his wife, Wendy, he has shared in the experiences of youth ministry, corps officership and administration.