Remember playing hide and seek? The counting would begin by the seeker standing with eyes covered while all the hiders found there secret hiding places. Everyone was fairly warned. The counting was loud enough so everyone was prepared when the seeker would yell, "Ready or Not, Here I come!" For most, the time allotted was plenty of time to find a hiding place, but there always seemed to be one or two kids still running furiously to find a spot. They were called out by the seeker and were then out of the game.
Tthat's how I usually feel around this time of year. Christmas Day is approaching and I've had almost 3 months of premature advertising yelling out the countdown, warning me of the impending holiday. Yet, here I am, madly thrashing about trying to get things done. Ready or not, Christmas Day comes, and it always seems I sink into my easy chair after the last present is opened, the last morsel of dinner is eaten, and the mess mostly cleaned up and I wonder... How the heck did I not see all this coming? How am I not prepared?
I know myself well. Usually around midnight on December 25th, I promise myself that I will start preparation for the next year's Christmas Holidays by June. HAHAHAHAHA. That's really all I can say.
What I really need to do is break out my advent meditation sometime mid-summer and prepare my heart - take seriously the practice of an Advent study in order to remember first why we celebrate Christmas all. Then it would seem more appropriate to start my gift selections in order to have that part out of the way. Less crowds and a more leisurely shopping experience sounds delightful as well as plenty of time to wrap.
Prepare the way of the Lord. Make your pathway straight. Once Advent comes, wouldn't it be so nice to have only candles to light, a select amount of decorations to put up and spend most of my Advent time adorning my heart with Christmas meditations? It sounds so right.
That kind of "ready" would empty my mind, empty my time slots, and empty my heart in preparation of an in-filling of the true Chrsitmas Spirit.
Come to think of it, I could start my own countdown 100 days before Chrsitmas. 100, 99, 98, Ready or not, Christmas, Here I am!!!!
Tthat's how I usually feel around this time of year. Christmas Day is approaching and I've had almost 3 months of premature advertising yelling out the countdown, warning me of the impending holiday. Yet, here I am, madly thrashing about trying to get things done. Ready or not, Christmas Day comes, and it always seems I sink into my easy chair after the last present is opened, the last morsel of dinner is eaten, and the mess mostly cleaned up and I wonder... How the heck did I not see all this coming? How am I not prepared?
I know myself well. Usually around midnight on December 25th, I promise myself that I will start preparation for the next year's Christmas Holidays by June. HAHAHAHAHA. That's really all I can say.
What I really need to do is break out my advent meditation sometime mid-summer and prepare my heart - take seriously the practice of an Advent study in order to remember first why we celebrate Christmas all. Then it would seem more appropriate to start my gift selections in order to have that part out of the way. Less crowds and a more leisurely shopping experience sounds delightful as well as plenty of time to wrap.
Prepare the way of the Lord. Make your pathway straight. Once Advent comes, wouldn't it be so nice to have only candles to light, a select amount of decorations to put up and spend most of my Advent time adorning my heart with Christmas meditations? It sounds so right.
That kind of "ready" would empty my mind, empty my time slots, and empty my heart in preparation of an in-filling of the true Chrsitmas Spirit.
Come to think of it, I could start my own countdown 100 days before Chrsitmas. 100, 99, 98, Ready or not, Christmas, Here I am!!!!
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