Advent our lives

During this season of Advent, my congregation has been focusing on the theme of "pondering." (Bet you couldn't tell I had a hand in that one!). Something that sticks out for me in this part of the Christian Year is found in the benediction we've been using each week:

"Advent your life!" it tells us, "wait and wait and wait."

In this season, cluttered with secular calls for spending, keeping up with the Jonses', and gorging on food and drink, I like the idea of Adventing our lives: that in this season we need to get past all the gawdy decor in our souls, forget about the upper limits of how we spend our love, and see the face of God in the most unusual of places. This is true incarnation - this is true love of all the world - this is the spirit of the season.