Making.Room.

I really shouldn't be blogging right now. I should, obviously, be studying. But this is my final attempt at procrastination. Plus...what I'm about to post has been on my mind all week, and it's going to feel so good get it out of my head and onto my blog:::

I've been attending a lovely college Sunday School class lately--when I'm not visiting Walker in Asheville, and this past week we discussed: making room for Christ in the season of Advent. How do we do it? Why is it often so difficult? And perhaps the most convicting question....do we make room for Christ at all? If we're really honest with ourselves? After some thought, I've realized that even since the day of His birth...this world has had trouble making room for Him.

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." --Luke 2:7

For me, making room for Christ and His arrival is difficult for many reasons, but one that stands out. I am a very social person [that might actually be a bit of an understatement], and Christmas has become a very social holiday. I love loving people. And laughing with people. And forming friendships & memories with people. This, to my delight, is a season filled with all of those things. This makes it hard for me to spend the time needed to internally celebrate Christmas. I am really good at externally celebrating, if I do say so myself. But to internalize Advent, and what it means...requires a quiet spirit. One that for me, is especially hard to find amongst the hustle + bustle of December.

I want to be intentional this holiday season to celebrate Christmas inside my soul. To make room for Christ by quieting myself in hopes of hearing Him. May I find some way, in all the noise, to quietly & genuinely appreciate Christ and His humble arrival. This will definitely prove to be a challenge, seeing as I am external by nature. But I am confident that by making room for Christ during Advent, I will better experience the true joy that His birth brings. I pray I will be granted a quiet, yielding spirit, and that I will see it's value not just this Christmas, but all year long.

"Take time to be aware that in the very midst of our busy preparations for the celebration of Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives. Take time, slow down, be s t i l l, be awake to the Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present." --Edward Hays.