Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving, we arrived home from Texas. I wanted to pull out a few Christmas decorations and start making everything look a lot like Christmas, but I was just tired. I just didn’t feel like pulling out the tree and climbing into the way back of the closet.

I remembered a candle I had purchased from Dayspring. I cleared off the china hutch and set the candle on it and opened the Bible to Luke, chapter 2.

I actually ended up leaving it just like that for a few days – simple, humble, almost empty.

The more I walked past that space in our dining room, the more I thought about advent and my heart.

I needed to clear out room in my heart, too.

I needed to put everything else away – the busyness, the expectations, and the judgement of anyone and everyone who wasn’t living up to my silly made up standards. As usual, the quieter I became, the more I realized the issue was me.

This year, I’ve left the house much more simple. I’m still very happy with the twinkle lights and snowmen all around, but leaving 2 of the 4 Christmas decoration boxes unpacked left me room to make it to Nate’s spelling bee without being stressed. It allowed me to bless a friend and offer to redo a photo shoot of a not-in-the-mood toddler, which went great! I was able to put together small gifts for Julia’s Christmas party tonight. I was able to sing in our Taizé service and really enjoy preparing my heart for His coming.

What are you doing to prepare your heart this season and ready the way?

I’d love to hear!

Kate