Advent Winds

I'm not entirely sure if the creative juices are flowing today, but I can sense that there is something on the heart that needs to be expressed. I'm hoping that I can find the words that will give flesh to my thoughts and yearnings. Here it goes...

Gena and I returned from vacation Saturday evening. After a long drive and an incredibly busy week of eating, napping, reading, and eating some more, let's just say that it was good to be home. During the drive I had a lot of time to think and peer deep into the workings and wanderings of my mind and heart. With both Gena and Abbie napping, there was plenty of time for quiet introspection as we cruised through the various landscapes of Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada. Let me just say that car rides can work wonders for your soul. This 9 hour car ride awakened me to the fact that I'm in desperate need of an 'awakening.' And since I define faith as an 'awakening' of sorts, then I would say that I'm in dire need of 'faith.' Faith that awakens me to the beauty and majesty of that which is all around me.

Is it really any wonder that Jesus launches his ministry with a statement that causes and calls us to wake up and to see that the 'Kingdom of God' has come near in and through Him? God's kingdom of love, compassion, grace, forgiveness, and justice. Jesus says that it's near and it's all around us. He hints at the fact that God's very presence saturates this world and that we could see it if we just 'opened' the eyes of our hearts and minds. It's like all our deepest hopes and yearnings are right in front of us. It's as if that which our souls desperately ache and long for is smack dab in our midst and all we have to do is open ourselves and accept it. To which I ask this: Why don't we? Maybe the better question is: Why don't I? Why do I allow my life to be consumed with everything else? Why do I allow myself to be engaged in the chasing after things that really don't matter?

Because it's in chasing these things that we, myself included, not only lose sight of that which is right in front of us, but we become numb to the holy presence that surrounds and envelops us.
We become numb and deaf to the compassionate embrace and quiet soothing voice of our Father. Ultimately, we end up finding ourselves rooted in a place of frustration, struggle, stress and anxiety. And this is exactly where I've been living...

...and now my soul is yearning for release and longing for 'rescue.'

Ironic that I find myself in this position at the very outset of the Season of Advent. Advent, the season leading up to Christmas, is a time of eager anticipation, hope, and longing. It's a time in which we remember and celebrate the birth and coming of Christ. But it's also a time when we anxiously look forward to Christ's second coming when He will bring justice and peace once and for all. A time when God will make all things 'right.'

Advent essentially means 'coming.' And as I think about it more, I desperately long for an advent within my own soul. I long for God to come, break in and stir up something new and fresh within this heart. Yes, this very heart that often and unknowingly chases after everything, but Him. Father, would you 'come' and awaken this heart...

I remember when I was young, my father and I would make countless trips down to the lake (Lake Erie to be exact) to go fishing on our boat. But the thing about Buffalo is that you can never tell what the wind is going to do. I don't even think the meteorologists in Buffalo even knew. One minute there would be no wind and in the very next second there could be an incredibly strong gust. Fishing in high winds is not exactly a pretty sight. I don't know what other people think, but fishing in 6-8 foot waves is not ideal. One morning in the Summer we woke up and scurried down to the lake only to discover that the wind was howling. I swear it increasingly picked up as we drove down to the harbor This has been a joke between my father and I for years.

We've grown to loathe the wind.

Yet as I sit, write and think about where my heart is currently, I can't think of anything else to ask God this Advent Season then for fresh 'Winds.' Winds that would cause the waves of His love, mercy, and grace to crash over the sides and drench my entire being. Winds that would disrupt the apathy, pride, and distrust that has slowly taken root. Winds that would rip away the hardness that has calcified upon my heart. Winds that would cause me to open myself to the presence, glory, and love of Christ. Winds that would bring life to a weary soul.

May the 'Advent Winds' have there way with us.
And may they cause the grace and love of God to crash into our lives.