From Johannah Myers, Executive Director
I love Advent. Over the past few years, I’ve found this season of waiting and preparation even more meaningful than Christmas itself. There’s something holy about being invited to slow down, practice patience, and sit for a while in the dark and the unknown. Advent gives us room to acknowledge what we long for without needing to rush toward an answer. (The Advent album from Porter’s Gate plays on repeat in my car throughout most of November and December, even more than Christmas music!)
So while this post should probably be something about All Saints or being thankful – even Christ the King – I’m skipping ahead to Advent already!
This year, at my local Messy Church, we’re taking November to prepare for our preparing. We’re focusing on Advent, keeping things simple, and using Laura Alary’s wonderful book, Look! A Child’s Guide to Advent and Christmas. She offers three postures for the season: look back, look around, and look ahead.
As I prepare for our gathering, I’ve been pondering those invitations myself.
Look back. Where have we experienced God’s faithfulness? What stories help us remember that God meets people in uncertainty, often in unexpected ways?
Look around. Where might God be present in the mess right in front of us? Who needs our attention? What might we notice if we slowed down long enough to look?
Look ahead. What are we hoping for? How might we make room for what God is bringing to life, even when we can’t yet see what it will look like?
These questions are shaping my preparation alongside the supplies and activity plans. I need time to enter the season, too—to let its invitations work on me as I prepare to share them with others.
Perhaps your November is already crowded with plans for December. Mine certainly is. Somewhere among the lists, I hope we can pause long enough to look back, look around, and look ahead.
There is holiness in the waiting. And there is grace for those of us still preparing to prepare.
