As I ponder the characters in the Christmas story I wonder
about how they were waiting, hoping, and preparing. It’s not unlike my own story. Or maybe yours.
Aren’t we all waiting for something? Hoping for something? Preparing for something? For me it used to be waiting until I found
someone I wished to marry and spend the rest of my life with. Would I ever meet him? Or, I hoped, by some miracle my dad would be
cured of his Louis Gehrig’s disease. Or,
I prepared for my son’s birth…thinking he would follow the family trend of being
born weeks early…only to have him be two weeks late. Waiting is never fun. It’s hard. It’s work. It takes encouragement and determination to
hold on. To not let go.
I’m sure Isaiah had hoped he’d see the Messiah come and
fulfill all that he had prophesied. My
guess is the shepherds were encouraged (along with being scared) that the long
awaited Messiah was really finally coming.
I think Mary held tight to the fact that someday others would finally
see that her hoping in the Lord was honorable.
So honorable, that she became the mother of the Messiah, the
Savior. She endured shame and rejection,
but clung to what she knew to be true.
May I continue to do the same. Hold tight to what I know to be true. Keep hoping when it seems impossible. And prepare.
Prepare for what is yet to come.
Prepare my heart for what matters most.
Prepare my children by investing in them.
I wanted to share with you a few simple things we’ll be doing
this season. We’ll be lighting advent
candles each week (beginning today), and then the fifth candle will be lit on
Christmas Day. Each means something
significant. In the past, I’ve printed
coloring sheets for the boys to color the candles instead of lighting real
ones. We’ve also made a paper plate
wreath, and cut out three purple and one pink circle to set tea lights on. This year I found an advent candle stand at a
second hand shop. So, we’ll light the
appropriate candles each week, and talk about its meaning. I found some simple prayers I’m posting on
our wall by our dining table to help us remember.
I find it’s so easy to get caught up all that our society
says about Christmas. And we have to be
intentional about slowing down, pausing to remember what’s true, and taking
time to ponder it and be encouraged by it.
The truth is that Jesus IS Truth (John 14:6). He is our Savior, the long
awaited Messiah. We might spend our
whole lives waiting in lines, hoping for something to change. Whether it’s hoping and waiting for the
little things or big things…it still drains us.
Leaving us thirsty. But the only
thing that can truly satisfy is Jesus (Matt. 11:28). Only He has the power to
rescue us from the kingdom of darkness (Col. 1:13). Only He can breathe hope
and joy and love into us that is eternal.
May you, along with our family, pause this season to be
filled up. To remember, and refocus, re-invite
our Savior in.
Michelle
p.s., here are the prayers we’ll be using this year:
Candle 1 (purple) This is the candle of hope, aka the
prophecy candle. Prayer: Come Lord Jesus
fill my heart with hope.
Candle 2 (purple) This is the candle of peace, aka
the Bethlehem candle, as well as the candle of preparation. Prayer: Come Lord
Jesus fill my heart with peace.
Candle 3 (pink or rose) This is the candle of joy,
aka the Shepherd’s candle. Prayer: Come
Lord Jesus fill my heart with joy.
Candle 4 (purple) This is the candle of love, aka the
Angel’s candle. Prayer: Come Lord Jesus fill my heart with love.
Candle 5 (white) This is the Christ candle. Prayer:
Come, let us adore him. Jesus, the
Savior, has been born!
Here's a simple coloring sheet of the candles:
Here's a simple coloring sheet of the candles:
