Advent's Journey Into the Unknown
Advent is a season for preparation. A season for impending change. A season for growth.
It's so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of life, traffic, decorating, wrapping up finals, getting that project for work done, having people out for the holidays, everyone being sick, family drama, figuring out New Years Resolutions, and the other hundred things that we need to do. For some, this is also a painful season because of broken families, deaths, lack of funds, or many other reasons. And, if w're honest, we can let our whole lives be this way: Caught up in the business of life.
I know I spent a good couple years answering "How's it going?" with "Busy." Which is usually a good indication I'm letting busyness overwhelm the rest of me. We can keep up for so long, but, eventually, the wave of life will knock us back down. I take my emotional, spiritual, and even temporal growth and hide it behind the accepted achievements. If I'm busy, then, even if I'm not in my best place, I'm at least productive. And we value productivity more than almost anything else in our modern society. If I can at least tell you that I'm being "good" then I know that I am not a total failure. Even if I fall over and over, as long as I'm trying.... well, we're doing better than the rest, right?
But when we let busyness, when we let expectations, when we let our obligations, when we let our achievements be our answer, we fail to allow our spirits to sing. We fail to actually grow.
Advent asks us to intentionally take a step back from this. To prepare for the change that is coming. It reminds us that we are Creatures of Hope, Creatures of Transformation. It reminds us to listen to that still small voice inside of us that is trying to help us be the best we can be. When we don't take this time to remember who we are and where our hope is, then we become restless, listless, frustrated, and feel impotent. Advent is like a trellis. We can grow all we want, but we just make a mess without the trellis.
We have no idea where we will go if we climb, but we feel so much better (eventually). We stretch ourselves up, expose ourselves to the light, and facilitate growth. We can reach so much higher when we allow this time, this structure.
So, I challenge you today to set aside your busyness. Take time to listen to that still small voice that is calling you to even greater things. I challenge you to embrace the change that is coming. I challenge you to take a step into the unknown. To stop playing by the rules of society and start finding your own path. I challenge you to leave the comfort of your status quo. To acknowledge that there's more to be found and learned.
It's thrilling, and terrifying, to buck societal expectations. To let the voice that leads us into a new unknown be our guide. But, when we let ourselves hear, and follow, well..... You never know what you will find.
It's so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of life, traffic, decorating, wrapping up finals, getting that project for work done, having people out for the holidays, everyone being sick, family drama, figuring out New Years Resolutions, and the other hundred things that we need to do. For some, this is also a painful season because of broken families, deaths, lack of funds, or many other reasons. And, if w're honest, we can let our whole lives be this way: Caught up in the business of life.
I know I spent a good couple years answering "How's it going?" with "Busy." Which is usually a good indication I'm letting busyness overwhelm the rest of me. We can keep up for so long, but, eventually, the wave of life will knock us back down. I take my emotional, spiritual, and even temporal growth and hide it behind the accepted achievements. If I'm busy, then, even if I'm not in my best place, I'm at least productive. And we value productivity more than almost anything else in our modern society. If I can at least tell you that I'm being "good" then I know that I am not a total failure. Even if I fall over and over, as long as I'm trying.... well, we're doing better than the rest, right?
But when we let busyness, when we let expectations, when we let our obligations, when we let our achievements be our answer, we fail to allow our spirits to sing. We fail to actually grow.
Advent asks us to intentionally take a step back from this. To prepare for the change that is coming. It reminds us that we are Creatures of Hope, Creatures of Transformation. It reminds us to listen to that still small voice inside of us that is trying to help us be the best we can be. When we don't take this time to remember who we are and where our hope is, then we become restless, listless, frustrated, and feel impotent. Advent is like a trellis. We can grow all we want, but we just make a mess without the trellis. We have no idea where we will go if we climb, but we feel so much better (eventually). We stretch ourselves up, expose ourselves to the light, and facilitate growth. We can reach so much higher when we allow this time, this structure.
So, I challenge you today to set aside your busyness. Take time to listen to that still small voice that is calling you to even greater things. I challenge you to embrace the change that is coming. I challenge you to take a step into the unknown. To stop playing by the rules of society and start finding your own path. I challenge you to leave the comfort of your status quo. To acknowledge that there's more to be found and learned.
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