By: Elisabeth Williams

Preparing the Way of the Lord

Each year, as Thanksgiving dishes are barely cleared and Black Friday sales flood our inboxes, the season of Advent quietly arrives. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t demand. Rather, it simply invites: “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

For years in our family, this meant going to every holiday function, dragging the kids around the city to make memories while also losing sleep hoping that we checked off everything on their Christmas activity wish list. It was imperative to arrive early enough to get seats at their Christmas pageants, to complete the Jesse Tree, and read from scripture nightly. It was tiring, overwhelming, and left the kids and us cranky and too tired to celebrate the actual Octave of Christmas when it finally arrived.

More recently, Advent has become less about checking off traditions like parties, LEGO calendars, and candy-filled shoes and more about listening. What is Christ asking of me in the waiting? How can I make space in my home and in my heart for Him? And is it possible for me to offer that simple invitation to others as well?

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