Focal verse
“You show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:3).
Reflection
My son’s eyes light up, and his arms zoom up and down with energy. “In my city, I’m going to build skyscrapers as tall as me,” he says, Legos in hand. “And a zip line that goes across my room.”
Another day he regales me with “I’m going to build a robot that will clean everything for you. It’ll have hands and feet and can vacuum and clean up my room.”
I listen and marvel at his imagination, his creativity and his ability to believe that what he dreams can come true. Whether it’s something he reads in a book or watches on TV, he believes he can do it. He tells me his plans, and then he gets to work.
Then I wonder: When did I stop believing in my dreams? When did I lose the spark of imagination that allowed me to feel that my dreams were within reach? Maybe the change came with the exhaustion of raising kids, the bombardment of picture-perfect scenes from social media, the pressure of perfectionism, feeling too young or feeling too old.
Whatever it is, on any given day, I seem to have lost the ability to believe anything is possible. Maybe you have too. Maybe you have a dream that’s tucked away in a closet or buried under the dishes or piles of unopened mail.
This Advent season, perhaps it’s time to unearth your dreams and listen to the song of your heart. Advent invites us to sit and wait, to ponder and reflect. As we light candles each night, may we see the light dancing. May we take to heart Elizabeth’s words, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). May we hear as ours Mary’s words, “Here I am” (Luke 1:38).
Maybe we could all use a bit of my son’s confidence. We may all need the reminder that God created us good and holy. That Emmanuel, God with us, this Advent and Christmas season gives us the courage and hope to dream big, for ourselves and for the world.
Practices
- Read Little Mole’s Christmas Gift by Glenys Nellist (Beaming Books, 2020) together as a family.
- Make your own Advent calendar, with 24 activities you want to take part in this season (Christmas-caroling for neighbors, baking cookies, praying for your teachers, watching a holiday movie, reading about the birth of Jesus, etc.).
Prayer practice
Find a map of the world. Gather with your family, light a candle and pray for the people and countries of the world. Lift up places consumed by war or natural disaster. Give thanks for the diversity of God’s people. Pray together: Dear God, we give thanks for your world and all creation. Help us to be your light so that others can know your love and feel your peace. In this season, may we be bearers of joy and hope to all we meet. Amen.
