Patience - I Need It Now!
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As an anticipatory and penitent season, Advent can bring many pressures to an already hectic time. While it is certainly important to keep Christ in Christmas, our life's realities must garner our attention as well. The trick is to find a balance that is right for you. As an individual, your life is unlike the life of any other. Your family responsibilities, job obligations, and the things that just happen - this all fits into the equation of what makes up the entire picture of your life.
Sometimes stepping back and looking at the whole picture is a helpful means to finding balance for your reality.
Don't feel inadequate because you're not keeping up with all of the many opportunities to have the best Advent ever. You can't do it all. You probably are not even able to fulfill your own personalized agenda each and every day. Be honest with yourself and grab onto the things you can do and prioritize. That way, your spiritual life will remain at the top but your other duties will also stand a chance.
2. Find quiet time to reflect on waiting and preparationInstead, savor Advent, a season purposely focused on waiting and preparation. Every day, try to find a quiet moment to allow God to fill the spaces in your heart that need comfort, courage and grace. For a mom, that might only be available early in the morning, late at night, or while waiting in the car while performing taxi duty. Yet you can make it special nonetheless. Breathe deeply and invite Him in. |
3. Don't overwhelm yourself with projectsYou don't have to be Martha Stewart or recreate every 'wow' project on Pinterest.Some years, I make the most perfect cookies from scratch. Sometimes they are the cookies of my German heritage, and then there are the cookies that look picture perfect with colorful icing. I sometimes manage to get it all in because I feel inspired and because life has allowed it that year. Other years, it simply fails to happen. There might be too many choir and Christmas play practices. Or maybe I have chosen to sew a few gifts. Sometimes I simply feel uninspired. I have had to learn to just let life ebb and flow. The main thing is to make it to confession and to make sure others feel (and see) Christ's love in me. |
4. SimplifyChoose one or two things per day to do that you can enjoy with your family. Maybe you are like me and you want to be structured, but your mind wanders restlessly between all of the objectives you set up for yourself. When that feeling threatens to steal my peace of mind, I go to the time-honored system of list making. The list begins with the most important objectives and dwindles down to the optional. If I set my mind to completing the items on my list, one at a time, it all of a sudden becomes doable. |
5. Remember that it's never too late to startDon't throw your hands up in despair because Advent has already begun and you're feeling behind. So the second (or third) Sunday of Advent has come and gone. Is it really too late? Not a chance. Remember, we serve a God of many chances. However many days remain, that is how many opportunities you still have to 'get with the program'. What is your hold up? Start today! |
6. Don't overemphasize the materialWhether it's preparing a feast (or replicating a French pastry shop), gifting, or decor. Some years the financial picture is less promising than you would like. That's the year you give from the heart. Some of the most memorable gifts have been the ones that cost very little but hit just the right spot in the heart. Bags made for the girls out of leftover fabric, a heritage cookbook, or a specially handcrafted booklet. These are actually the gifts that end up being most cherished. |
7. Pour your love into every aspectIn the rushed and demanding days leading up to family gatherings, savor each aspect, make each prayer, book, project or gift sublimely important by pouring your love into it. |
8. Savor the beauty of the seasonWhen everything on your list is checked off, the last package is wrapped, and your special times with Jesus have strengthened your spirit, that is when you will become most aware of the beauty of the Season. The glow of the faces around you as you attend Mass, the soothing nourishment your soul receives when receiving Him in the Eucharist, and the afterglow of the remembrance of a Child who came to save us all - that will be your Gift. The hurry and worry will be washed away. Your preparation and readiness to greet Him will all fall into place and you will realize that we truly need the anticipatory time of Advent to fully celebrate Christmas. |
Birgit Jones is a ‘slightly 60,’ passionately pro-life, cradle Catholic. She and her Catholic convert husband, Rick, have been married for 40+ years. Frequent visits from their four adult children and 12 living grandchildren eliminate any fear of an empty nest. Birgit can also be found on her personal blog DesignsbyBirgit and Facebook fan page Designs by Birgit.
