Take a Rest

December 10, 2021

We are two weeks away from Christmas now. Holiday preparations may be speeding up for you, even as the days get colder and shorter and the nights longer. As always, there are disturbing stories in the news and probably some worrisome things going on with friends and family. Maybe the holidays feel more painful as you anticipate them without a loved one this year.

However this day finds you, let Advent be a resting place for you today. If you have an Advent wreath, why not light it now and sit quietly in its light? If you don’t have an Advent wreath, you could find any candle you’ve got around the house and do the same. Let yourself sit in the quiet with no agenda, knowing God is with you, a light in the darkness. Maybe you want to tell God what is on your mind or in your heart. If so, do that. Maybe saying the rosary now is appealing to you. After all, at this point 2,000 years ago, Mary was two weeks out from giving birth. She knows what it was like to live through cold days and long nights with huge uncertainties looming. Maybe playing a favorite Advent song on repeat is the prayer you need right now. (At a loss for a song? Look up Amy Grant’s “Breath of Heaven.”) Or maybe you just want to curl up with a blanket and a hot drink and rest in God’s presence. If you fall asleep, well then, you are practicing the “spirituality of napping,” and that means God knows you need the rest. Congratulate yourself for being comfortable enough in God’s presence to relax into sleep. God can work in your sleep just as easily as in your waking. 

For action: Make time today to do whatever it is that sounds most appealing, restful, comforting, or healing, knowing that if Jesus took time away from the demands of the crowds to be alone with God in the desert, you can too.