Have You Begun Your Journey?
By Marianna Meachen, Director of Care Ministries
When I was a little girl growing up in southwestern Indiana, we looked to Christmas with great anticipation, but for all the wrong reasons. Although we sang songs about the coming of the Christ child at church, our expectation as children was that Santa was coming. That was exciting to us. After all, we talked about Jesus all the time and He was already here.
When I was around nineteen, I read a book about the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem entitled Two from Galilee by Marjorie Holmes. As I read, I thought about the journey we take each year to prepare for Christmas. As I began to learn more about this season of preparation, I realized that Christmas is incomplete without Advent. (The word “Advent” is derived from a Latin word that means “coming,” a looking forward to the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, the season of Advent lasts for four Sundays leading up to Christmas Day.)
American author Jeff Goins says, “Christmas is not meant to be an isolated day, but a festival of the incarnation in the midst of the Church year. Christmas is only properly understood after having the preparation provided by Advent. In the midst of the secular excesses leading up to Christmas, Advent provides a welcome solace and an opportunity to continually re-oriented ourselves to God’s will as we expectantly wait with patriarchs, prophets, and kings for the true meaning of Christmas, the incarnation of the Son of God.”
The season of Advent is a gift of waiting and watching. I have learned to embrace this entire season of coming. It’s not just an arrival that makes Christmas special; rather, it is the combination of Advent and Christmas together. Without a destination, we would never begin a journey. Arriving at the destination gives meaning to the trip.
Here are some ways to consider to help you prepare your heart during Advent:
Have an Advent wreath in your home and talk about the meaning of the different candles each night at dinner.
The app YouVersion provides a 25-day Advent reading plan.
Ask God in prayer each day to prepare your heart to receive His Son anew.
Be generous to others in small ways like giving them a call, a text message, or a card in the mail.
We need both Advent and Christmas, together. Both are essential to understanding the coming of the Christ child into the world and the significance of it to us. Many of us need to recapture the importance of taking a spiritual journey. May our journey this year be the journey of Advent.
“But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33, NIV)
Prayer: O Gentle Savior, let us journey to that lowly stall at Bethlehem to once again meet and worship You. Prepare us on our journey that through You we may be salt and light to the world. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray. Amen
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