Advent is the expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second coming! It is the anticipation of Jesus! I don’t remember Advent being a part of my vocabulary much growing up and in fact it was probably my later adult years that I began to hear so much about it. But now, I love Advent and what it represents. Advent is that period of time anticipating Christmas! We celebrate the baby Jesus at Christmas and during advent we are looking forward to that celebration and in our mind, as Christians we should also be celebrating and thinking on the second coming of Christ. That’s what Advent is all about!
Advent is usually celebrated the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas. There is sometimes an Advent wreath with candles, 3 blue or purple, 1 rose colored and a Christ candle in the center. The 4 candles represent Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Each Sunday a scripture would be read and 1 more candle lit with the Rose colored candle representing Joy and then on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day the Christ Candle would be lit.
So let’s anticipate! Just like last year, the Christmas decorating seemed to start early. This year we are dealing with inflation and talk of there not being enough food and/or merchandise for our holiday season. Gas is more expensive which may be a problem for some people for travel. Although the news said that holiday travel over Thanksgiving was at an all time high, possibly because people are just tired of not seeing their loved ones. I have been working on getting all of my Christmas decorations up the past few days and I hope to be complete with my shopping and decorating in the next week so I can sit back and enjoy the lights and the sounds and the smells of Christmas. I love the season as much as the event. I want to cuddle up on a cold night and just watch Christmas movies in front of a fire. I want to visit a light display. I want to bake Christmas cookies with my grandchildren. Yes I am anticipating all of those things but I also want to anticipate Jesus! I want to spend time with the one whom Christmas is about, my Jesus! I want to ask Him to renew something in my heart again. The anticipation of something can be almost as exciting as the event itself. So for me I am looking forward to Jesus, I am going to anticipate the new thing he will do in my heart this holiday season. I am going to ask him to do a new thing in me this Christmas. And then I am going to ask Him what He wants me to do for Him in the new year! I want Him to make a way in the wilderness of my heart. What about you?
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19
Restore 