Some Advent Thoughts

Throughout the time of Advent, I have had this continual desire to have times of peaceful reflection and waiting on God. Just to prepare my heart for Christmas, and meditate on the return of Christ. But that was not to be. Every time I turned around, there was something else added to my schedule. My kids had another project for school. There was another item added to my agenda. Another memo written on the calendar. Something always came up that needed my attention. It has frustrated me so much!

But in the middle of all this, God spoke something to me so clearly today. That's the point of it all. The world didn't come to a standstill when Christ was born. Yes, there was the angelic announcement and the shepherd's visit. Later, the star led the wisemen to Christ. But those few people are the only ones whose lives paused for His coming. The rest of the world went on with their daily schedules, totally oblivious to the incredible event that had occured in the stable that night, or how that event would eventually change the world. The point is that Christ comes in the midst of our regular lives. He is there in the center of it all--all the craziness and chaos. He is there. IF we allow Him. IF that is what we are truly desirous of, He will indeed make His presence known. Life doesn't have to come to a stop for Him to be present.

I know this is quite an elementary idea, but it struck me as profound. Yes, I do need to take those quiet times to be alone with Him and remember what happened on that night so long ago. But even more important, I need to allow Him to be there in all the times of busyness, allowing Him to make them times of joy and not times of stress.

For that is the beauty of Christmas: Immanuel, "God With Us ".