(Photo Creds: We Heart It)
What a terrific photo. I love the expectancy of children. As we grow older – and especially because I have the joy of watching my boys come of age – I am more and more aware of how we lose this feeling of excitement.
This season quickly consumes us with apps eagerly sharing the greatest new “deal,” dinners, shopping, movies, etc. As cool as that can be, I long for deeper moments of connection and a true focus on the meaning behind this incredible season. (By the way, it may be slightly more than a longing… a bit more like a full-out sprint from the “mall,” so to speak, and into the welcoming refreshment of reveling in sheer HOPE. Hope for a world free of illness, sadness and brokenness in general.)
For Christians, the Advent season starts today, signaling the four-week countdown to celebrate the birth of the messiah, who brings us this hope. For others, the season is equally rich in meaning and I love that I am a part of a diverse community. Most of all, we all come together to unify around family and the best parts of the human spirit: giving, celebrating… enriching our world.
My great hope today is that we will all choose to make this year, 2016, the year we truly take this time and this season to become as expectant as children. To relish in what the season has to offer.
Dear God, provide us with your heart, and the joy and expectancy of a child.