“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:23
Advent symbols float through our minds and lives this time of year. Lights, stars, angels, evergreens, pink and purple candles, camels and wise men and mangers waiting for an infant. Advent is about waiting and preparing. Waiting for Immanuel and preparing ourselves for what it really means to have God with us.
Our world is a busy world. We run, we hustle, we bustle, we use our smartphones and computers to do what? To save time? But then we run even harder. Are we running from ourselves, from stress, from boredom, from emptiness? We can get off of the treadmill of a harried life. We can run straight into the arms of God. He is waiting for us, for He is God with us.
This year during Advent I have been trying to create space in my life, space in my mind and space in my heart – for Jesus. Only through moving ourselves and the parts of our lives we use to distract ourselves out of the way, can we find the still, quite place where God will fill us with himself. God with us.
During the last two days before Christmas I will be thinking about and praying about Immanuel – God with us. And how lucky are we that our God loves us so much that He became man and walked with us. And how if that does not transform us, nothing will. We need to stop, and breathe, and soak in the reality of God’s tremendous love for us. And wonder at the beautiful mystery of Immanuel. God with us.
Bound in Love 