Advent: Day 1

I was shocked to learn that I haven't blogged since September 8th. Yikes!  That's months. In my defense, I've been a little busy with a few other projects

But still.

Yesterday in church as we began celebrating the season of Advent, I was reminded that I'm not so good about daily Bible study. As in, I don't do it. Kind of hard to admit, but I just did. What better season than Advent to begin a habit of reflecting on God's immeasurable grace and impact on my life, to be purposeful in listening to His guidance? I've got some big responsibilities coming up in the next year, and I'm going to need all of the divine guidance I can get.

Then I considered how I would go about accomplishing this Bible study and how I would remain accountable for it. Naturally, I then thought about the character in The Help who writes down all of her prayers (because who doesn't think of The Help during the sermon, right?). I remembered I hadn't blogged in a while and made a decision.

I'm going to write something every day of Advent, and I'm going to post it so that I know someone, somewhere will know if I don't do it. Since time is a precious commodity, I am committing to giving up some facebook or some candy crush time to get it done.  Because priorities. (Yes, I still play candy crush. That's like confession #2 here. But this blog isn't about confession.)

Today I'm writing while eating lunch, so ignore the smell of oranges and sticky keyboard.

I was thinking I needed some inspiration, some jumping off point for each day, and as we unpacked our Christmas decorations I discovered Max Lucado's In the Manger: 25 Inspirational Messages for Advent in one of our boxes.

Score.

So here we go. Day 1.

Then God said, "Let there be light." Genesis 1:3

Today's message is about the creation of the world. Lucado paints a picture of God as the author of all things, and surmises that the first word he wrote on the blank page that was the world was time.

God is the creator of time. I guess I never thought of that before.

I, and most of the world, often complain that there's just not enough time. Not time to work out. Not time to clean the house. Not time to fold the socks. Not time to blah blah blah.  Christmastime itself can be a matter of keeping pace - attending holiday parties and church services and all of the other functions that seem to keep us moving.

I always think about time with a little melancholy at the holidays because my boys are growing up and the holidays somehow signify the passage of time. Tucker is in the youth group now, for crying out loud! Keaton is in his last year of elementary school! I'll be a senior citizen by March!

Life seems so, well, short.

But in God, time doesn't exist. It's an earthly thing. When I get caught up in the rush of things, or overwhelmed with all there is to do, or teary about blinking and having grown kids, then I should know I'm caught up in something of the world rather than something beyond the world.

So my prayer for you and me and all of us is that we find the peace that transcends time. That the baby in the manger focuses our attention not on what we can get done in a day, but on what waits for us beyond time, in eternity.

Amen.