I know how it goes. You rush home from your kids’ school Christmas party (where you made 23 Christmas trees out of pinecones and mini-pompoms while the kids stuffed their faces with red and green M&Ms they were supposed to be using to mark Christmas BINGO), so you can throw some lil’ smokies in a slow cooker to take to your book club’s Christmas party. But before you can go, you seal all 148 of your Christmas cards, staple a ribbon to your kids’ gifts they are giving to their teachers (you couldn’t find tape…) and then when you finally get home (after you “won” a Robert Pattinson doll as your white elephant gift), you get on Facebook to see that all your friends have been at home all day doing meaningful Bible studies with their kids around Advent candles and their homemade ornaments.
And you want to cry because you want to make Christmas about Jesus. But when you’ve signed up for parties and lil’ smokies and white elephant gifts, how do you fit Jesus in there?!
Guess what?
It’s not too late to celebrate Advent. It’s not too late to make Jesus the center of your celebration.
Do you know what Advent means?
The coming. Arrival.
That’s it. Advent, the days leading up to Christmas, just means arrival. It’s the time we celebrate the arrival of Jesus.
And as we await the arrival and the celebration of baby Jesus, our fully-God, fully-man Savior, I think, the thing He wants us to do is the same. He wants us to arrive.
Arrive to a place of worship.
Arrive to a season of wonder.
Arrive to a space of quiet.
Arrive to a moment with Him.
It’s easier (and less stressful) than you think!
