Hope

Have you shifted into Christmas gear? Somewhere between frenzy and meltdown?

There's the decorating list, the party list—those to give and those to attend—the baking list, the gift list, the daily chore list, the “should” list....whatever yours is, the gift list, the buy list, the want list, the Christmas card letter list.

God, could you deliver a pause?

And the answer is yes! It comes in the form of Advent. That moment to quite the soul, to listen to the still, quite voice whispering amongst the din, the voice of hope, of grace, of peace.

This year I decided to listen to that still quite voice. I decided to consciously celebrate Advent, the four weeks before Christmas. It seemed so easy, so natural. 

 Right after Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday,

 a day to recognize all that we have to be grateful.

Why not slip right into Advent? A season that celebrates hope, peace, love and joy--easy peasy. Especially easy because our children are grown, we write checks instead of buying gifts and the decorating of the house, the throwing of parties is entirely at our discretion.

Plus we're spending the better part of the month traveling with three other good friends. 

What could be easier than traveling to wonderful parts of our country, visiting unique historic sites with people you love?

Except God is not into easy peasy. 

When you invite God in, he throws the door to your soul open and invites in all the unresolved, insane issues, the craziest parts of yourself, the most challenging situations.

We got through Thanksgiving with grace, joy and praise. 

We transitioned Friday from Thanksgiving to Christmas. 

Prince Charming with Prince Charming-in-training

Prince-Charming-in-training, aka our grown son, suggested we had nothing on Clark Kent who can transition from Clark to Super Man in under 20 seconds when we transitioned the house from Thanksgiving to Christmas in almost as short a time.

So far on our trip to Advent...recall the season of hope, peace, love and joy, we've faced a major, unresolved health crisis, a dear friend, taking a fall, ending in a life threatening coma, and the daily drama of five lives trying to learn to live together in a condo.

As of Sunday, we're half-way through Advent. We've marked the weeks of hope and peace, in the messiest, most human way possible. We've lighted candles, said our prayers, argued, laughed, rolled our eyes and prayed.

We're halfway through Advent....makes you wonder what Christmas, the birth of a child with change and love in mind, has in store doesn't it?