This year, I chose to take a study leave after Thanksgiving to prepare for Advent. What I have most discovered is that this leave time has helped me to begin to prepare my own heart for this season. So, I offer you what’s most on my heart this Advent and what is important for me to practice as I lean into the liminal space of holy waiting.
Cultivate Expectation: One step into Target, and you know exactly how many days you have left to find the perfect things to “make it Christmas” for your family, as if it was ours to make. So, during the busyness that often accompanies this time of year, we must create moments of stillness to anticipate the coming of our Savior. What are the promises of God and the hope found in Christ for you? I invite you to join me in spending as much time thinking about those questions as we do about what to buy or what to cook.
Engage in Advent Practices: Consider incorporating Advent traditions and practices into your daily life. This can be as simple as lighting candles on your own Advent wreath or spending dedicated time in Scripture each day. It could be bundling up for a winter walk each day and just asking God to prepare your heart for what’s coming.
Seek the Light in Darkness: Advent reminds us that even in the darkest moments, the light of Christ shines. The news around us is especially hard these days, and turning it off does not make you a bad world citizen. Seeking the presence of Christ during challenges, uncertainties, and the complexity of this world is important. Do you trust that his light dispels all darkness?
Extend Acts of Kindness: Embrace the spirit of giving — not just your physical gifts but the gift of your time. Who needs to be heard? Who needs a visit? Kindness and generosity are at the heart of the gospel story. If you aren’t “feeling the season” yet, practicing that kind of grace just might be what your heart needs.
• • •
You and I are four weeks away from the holiest of nights, the night we remember once again that God is with us, that Jesus came in person to show us what love really looks like, and how we can really and truly love. I pray we each drink deeply from this time, preparing our hearts for the One who really is the Prince of Peace.
Grace, Peace, and Advent blessings,
Leigh
