Advent Breathing.

Thanksgiving Day flowed straight into Christmas prep.

Perfection’s strong undertow is pulling at my head suddenly: perfect plans, perfect gifts, perfect house, perfect calendar.

The priorities of this world cultivate this brand of anxiety. The celebration of Christ’s birth is becoming an increasingly overwhelming season of pressure—and it is our own doing.

So, I pray:

May our hearts beat faster only when we are considering the overwhelming fact that our Savior joined our world in the form of a baby boy, lived amongst us, died for us, resurrected for us, and will soon return for … us.
May our joy come from our salvation, not our booked calendars. May this mindful approach aid us as we form priorities during this season and result in a sense of peace that allows us to be actively present with family and friends during the select activities that we deem worthy of our Christmas focus.

I pray this Advent that we can root ourselves in scripture. Because, incredibly, the story of a humble young couple giving birth explodes into the Holy Book that covers all time, connecting the dots between history, present days, and our imminent end. This birth we celebrate is the initiatory event that God put into place while creating a path for His children to have eternal life.

The scriptures cover the entirety of Christ’s commitment to us—His birth to His comeback, The Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end.

So let us consider the scriptures that mark the start and completion of Christ’s mission to embrace the importance of His birth truly, as only the full story exposes what a gift His birth was for humanity.

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look!