As is always the case, my Advent practice has been a bit inconsistent. It comes with the season, and the territory. Suffice it to say that I am grateful for the moments I do have to be still in these weeks leading up to Christmas.
And, in a strange bit of magical scheduling, I’ve had the great gift of more margin than usual this week. A couple of ‘work-from-home’ days feel like margin, although I honestly feel I’m more productive from this location than at the office or in a meeting. It’s all grace. It was unexpected this week, and I’m soaking in it.
Preparing for Christmas is an apt title for this process, and this week has been the time for doing just that. In just a few days, the first of my family members arrive for the holidays; there’s preparation like readying rooms and literal space in the house, stocking the fridge, getting the decorations up – but also, and more importantly, preparing my soul. At this stage of life, I understand the importance of presence when it comes to my family. It’s essential that I soak in every moment, as geography and circumstances make times of togetherness few and far between. This is true for all of my family – probably, for all of the people I care about. We are so, so busy going and doing these days. I seek to complete as much of the going and doing as possible, so I can simply sit with my favorite four-year old and read books and tell stories.
Rohr writes in today’s devotional of the confusion regarding what is needed for life and what is important for life. I can safely say that is a lesson I am leaning into these days, and it has been powerfully apparent to me as I’ve embraced the margin that has allowed me to move slowly and more contemplatively this week.
What the Gospel is saying…is that simplicity is the only place that happiness is ever to be found in the first place.
Richard Rohr, Preparing for Christmas
The simplicity of Old Testament readings that warm my heart and remind me of the long, long line of hope in the human race; the simplicity of storage boxes full of the familiar, as I hang worn, stained stockings and chipped ornaments on a plump Frasier fir; the simplicity of a perfect playlist of ‘Relaxing Christmas Music’. Late evenings wrapping gifts for friends and loved ones; the joy of having found the perfect book for a favorite reader. Time to carry a tired pumpkin over to the neighbors’ chicken coop. Time to take my mom to hear one of the most gifted singers I know sing songs of the season.
Time.
Siting still and appreciating time is a luxury, it seems; but it is important. It is needed. It is a gift that I am embracing, right now, and that is sufficient for this day.
grace every day 