I pray that you are well and that your Thanksgiving Day filled you with a deep sense of thanks for all the gifts of your life and maybe an extra helping (or two!) of food. We had a lovely, quiet Thanksgiving Day and for that I am thankful. Now we all turn to Advent and getting ready for the celebration of Christmas.
I'm feeling good about the getting ready for Christmas at church. The Advent moments of spiritual awakening are in place. IHN families are here this week and a lot of the Christmas giving is coming together. This Sunday, at the 9:15 worship, the choir and a small orchestra will give voice to a Bach Cantata, serving as the sermon. The Starlight Service of Remembering is set for Tuesday, December 8th; Quiet Day for Saturday the 12th; and Lessons and Carols is on Sunday evening the 13th in the Chapel. The Pageant preparations are well along, though we could use a few more players. The Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services promise to be magnificent as always, though my sermon is only at the idea stage.
I must admit that there is less peace in my heart for the Christmas celebration on the home front, however. The lights are up, but the house is untouched. I have a list of presents and notes to send, but it's far from complete. I recognize that there's still time, but am wondering if there's enough time to bring this all to fruition. You may be feeling the same growing anxiety as I am about your decorating and gift buying, wrapping, sending, and giving; and all that you love to have as part of your Christmas celebration.
Well, allow me to invite us all to take heart, literally. Take heart! Pay attention to your heart during what is often the busiest and most anxious season of the year, both at church and at home. Pay attention to your heart because that's where God is speaking to us at the moment. There's obviously plenty of physical activities to pay attention to and God is there, too, but He's most interested in your heart this season of the year. God is deeply interested in reminding you how He cared for you when He came that first Christmas, and as He comes to all of us today. God comes to our hearts in this time of year to heal our brokenness, to enliven our everyday lives, and to call us to become our best selves: the selves He created us to be.
The celebration of Christmas will come whether we are fully ready or not; whether we accomplish all we think we have to accomplish or not. My hope and prayer for all of us is that we will spend some time in the coming days getting our hearts ready. If we take heart, than the peace of God will rule there and these days will be days of blessing and love for all of us. That would be the sweetest gift in our getting ready.
