It doesn't always happen this way, but this year the first Sunday in Advent is December 1. After a little research, I have discovered that this is the first time this has happened since 2002 (there's your bit of useless but slightly interesting trivia for the day).
Today is one of those "forced rest" days. We all have them periodically; a day when we are dealing with an injury or illness and just can't quite get going. I have learned that if I change my perspective just a little bit, I can see them for the gift that they are. There is a choice to be made; sit and have a pity party, or take the time for quiet reflection and prayer.
Today we will certainly be lighting our Advent Candles at dinner. I will probably pull a few Christmas books from the basement to enjoy (Ruth Bell Graham's "Our Christmas Story" is a classic). We will be reading in the Old Testament prophets. And we will slow down and spend time thinking about Advent. As we prepare for the coming of Christmas, we will have the usual struggle of not getting caught up in the distractions of the season; the battle to redirect our gaze ~ and hopefully point others ~ to Jesus. He came as an infant. He struggled through life. He suffered and died for US. He rose again. The celebration of His birth is doubly exciting when you understand the WHY of His coming.
Then we remember. He's coming back! Today we are closer to His return than we were yesterday!! So we keep doing the work that He gives us to do each day. We keep watching because we know that at some point, "The clouds will be rolled back as a scroll".
May He find us engaged in doing what brings glory and honor to Him. May He greet us with a "Well done!"
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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