Working in the Communications Department, I often get a sneak preview of the graphics that will be used during the Advent season. I saw this year’s Advent graphic early in October. That little girl on the cover started me thinking about joy, holidays, stars, and the baby Jesus. But, I really noticed her expression.
The look on her face is one of joy and anticipation. What spoke to me was her sense of waiting for something. For kids, Christmas is a holiday that they wait for all year. It can’t come fast enough and if Christmas came once a month, they would be so happy. I remember my oldest daughter telling me she was ready for Christmas in July and asking me if she could start helping me decorate!
I began to wonder when I lost that sense of Christmas joy and anticipation. Did it happen during my college years as I began to question my beliefs? Was it when I became busy with a growing family? Or was it when I started back to work after raising a family? The one thing I realized was that it didn’t matter when I lost it. What mattered was bringing back the joy and excitement of Christmas.
This year’s Advent season will be more intentional for me. I need to keep the purpose of Advent before me – it is a time to prepare myself for the gift of Jesus the Christ. So, I have set aside a time during the early morning – a cup of coffee, my Bible, my Christmas devotional, and quiet. It is in the quiet that I am able to hear the message God has for me about the wonderful gift He has for all of us. I am also being focused on letting go of some of the busyness of Christmas. I might only
bake two batches of cookies instead of five, the Christmas decorating won’t be as elaborate, Christmas events that I attend will be fewer. I have realized that my joy and anticipation was buried underneath the busyness of the month.
The Advent season helps us focus on the work of God and especially God’s gift of His only Son. Take time this season to draw closer to Him. It might be a quiet time of reflection during the early morning, it might be taking time to slow down and really appreciate the season, or it might mean that you spend time with family and friends. Whatever you do – realize that Advent is the best time of the year, it’s soon going to be Christmas!
Bev Barnes, Administrative Assistant to the Communications Department
