Advent is a time of preparation
“For to us a child is born, unto to us a son is given.”
— Isaiah 9:6 (NIV).
Christmas — could it be that time of year already?
The holiday brings a flood of thoughts, from laughter and joy to worry and fear as we regard the depletion of our bank accounts and overextended charge cards.
As warm sentiments on Christmas cards fill our hearts and visions of softly lit Christmas trees and warm glowing candles cross our minds, we need to put aside our personal feelings and shop-until-you-drop mentalities, and turn our focus to dedicate the “holy day” for what it is: a celebration of our savior.
As we change our focus for a moment, let’s look at how we can remember the reason for the season.
December 1- 25 is known as Advent, which means “coming.” As the “holy day” approaches, what we celebrate is the coming of Christmas Day and our savior’s birth. If we keep this in mind, we can view the whole seasonal celebration with a spirit of adventure.
To do this we can enjoy a variety of Christmas-centered activities, such as an Advent calendar. Some have beautiful Nativity scenes, while others feature traditional winter wonderlands. One year I had one of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang singing carols.
Each calendar has a small box that surrounds each day from the first to the 25th. As we open the box, we receive a surprise on the other side. When I was a child, they contained a picture, but these days Advent calendars contain a variety of surprises behind each door. I have found some that contain a piece of chocolate, and others contain coffee, jewelry, alcohol and a whole host of other things. Opening a box each day was originally intended to stay focused in the particular activity for that day.
As we prepare for the coming of our Christmas Day celebration, may each day be an occasion to ponder the most pivotal story in history: the birth of Jesus Christ.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.