1
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my
God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my
shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised... Psalm 18
Advent
is the season that precedes Christmas Day. The season to prepare for the
birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.
It
never occurred to me until I became a mother how Advent parallels the
preparations I went through before the birth of my own babies. Some call
this phase the "nesting" phase - moms prepare our bodies (taking
vitamins, getting exercise, ensuring mom gets enough rest) and dads run around
wondering what they got themselves into. We all feel overwhelmed, full of
doubt that we're ready for this, unsure of our abilities; we wonder if we are
enough, if we are capable, if we are worthy of being a part of bringing a new
life into the world. We wonder if God really thinks we're good enough to
be parents. And before we know it - BOOM! the baby's here whether we're ready
or not. And we find ourselves adoring them.
When
my kids were toddlers, once in a while they would become over-tired or sleep
deprived and they would have a melt-down that would rock the walls of our
house. I used to refer to these "tantrums" as "The Storm Before the
Calm." I knew not to react to their behavior, nor to take it
personally. I thought if I could just guide them to a quiet, dark, safe
place, sleep would overtake them and all would be well. Once we passed
the storm, we would revel in the "calm" and be healed by it. I
used to just sit there and adore my sleeping children during those quiet times.
I
think Advent is exactly this. The Christmas season has evolved into the
"storm before the calm" - the craziness of shopping, baking, writing
holiday cards, decorating gingerbread houses, shopping, driving, decorating,
shopping, visiting Santa for that annual photo, and shopping. We run
around, pulling our hair out, stressing over details, behaving like my
exhausted toddlers until we finally can sit still and boom! It's Christmas
morning, whether we're ready or not.
The
"Storm before the Calm" prepares us for the Santa-side of Christmas
but how do we "nest" ourselves in preparation for the arrival of the
baby Jesus? Do we ever feel overwhelmed at the thought of God-made-man -
wondering if we are worthy of being a part of bringing this sacred life into
the world? Do we wonder if we are capable of the responsibilities of
being Christian and all that entails? Do we wonder if we are enough, with
all our faults, to come and adore this amazing blessing, this wondrous act of
love God bestows on us? Do we prepare our souls or do we just run around,
wondering what we got ourselves into?
Yes,
Virginia, there may be a Santa Claus, but there definitely is a baby
coming. And ready or not, worthy or not, we must be ready to step up and
Adore Him.
-Kathleen
Dixon
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