Advent Is Almost Here

Today's project in our home was to decorate for the Holidays.  We decided that when we return home from our Thanksgiving visit with family we wanted to return ready for the beginning of Advent, since the Sunday following Thanksgiving is the first Sunday in Advent this year.  Most of the work is done, though we do have a few things to finish up tomorrow.  I'm exhausted, but excited.  I love the Holiday season, but this year I feel a special anticipation of the coming of Christmas.  I am longing for Christmas to come and sense that Advent will be the time of preparation that it is supposed to be.  For me, like most Americans, Advent is usually treated as part of an extended Christmas celebration, but this year Advent will have a special significance for me, complementary to, but distinctive from, Christmas.  During this Advent, I'm asking God to lead me to understand some of the differences that the birth and ministry of Jesus have made in our lives, to contemplate what life might have been like had Jesus not come into the world.  As we decorated our home, I became aware that none of the joys that these decorations represent would be present in our hearts if Jesus had not been born.  May the coming season of Advent be a time of repentance, contemplation, and preparation for me and all who follow Jesus.