Every year at the beginning of Advent I always have a glorified vision of what the season will look like for me and my spiritual life. I romanticize the prayer time, thinking it will be lovely to spend it in front of our beautiful tree with some candles lit and my mind set on the Nativity of our Lord. In reality, I always wonder where Advent went and feel guilty about the lack of prayer that ends up happening. Right now the home is a mess and our tree is only half decorated. My husband and I are both exhausted; he began a new job a couple weeks ago and I have a baby in my womb zapping my energy here and there. And of course let’s not forget about all the extras fighting for space in the calendar: grocery shopping, Christmas shopping, doctor appointments, Christmas parties, and extra work commitments.
We all know how busy December is and throughout Advent we should take time to calm our minds and hearts and focus on prayer a little bit more. There are so many Advent resources out there that, at times, even trying to figure out what we want to do for this beautiful season can be overwhelming. So maybe instead of creating some grandiose plan for the next four weeks, I need to take Advent day by day. Perhaps my prayer time will be different every day, and some days it might be 5 minutes, other days I can spend 30 minutes with Scripture, soaking in the presence of the Lord. No matter what, it needs to be intentional. That’s what Mary’s pregnancy was all about, it was intentional on bringing forth the Savior of the World. It’s ok if our prayers aren't glamorous and we don’t get in that full 30 minutes or an hour of prayer time. We need to do what we can, and as long as we’re being intentional about it, we won’t feel guilty. Because sometimes you just need to go to bed at 7:30 PM with dirty dishes crowding the sink and your Bible unopened that day.
Despite our busyness, let us intentionally focus on the Lord and on the joy and peace this season brings. Every day may our lips proclaim "Come, Lord Jesus" and our hearts rest in His love.
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