Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads the high places of the earth. Micah 1:3 (MSG)

Christmas draws near. You can't escape it. I'm travelling on business this week and across from my hotel is a used car lot roughly the size of the island nation of Grenada. The car lot is blasting Christmas music so that you can hear it in your car from across the street even when you have your radio on. 

Before Christmas was about decorations, reindeer, shopping, and eating it was called the season of Advent (from the Latin word "coming"). It wasn't a day, but a period of time leading to Christmas in which people prepared their hearts for Jesus' coming. It was an annual time of personal reflection that culminated in a celebration of God sending His Son to reconcile a broken people to Himself.

I've been thinking a lot about Advent this year. Perhaps that's why the verse above jumped off the page at me. As time goes on, I find that I'm seeking more than superficial holiday traditions. I'm searching within and looking out for the coming of Christ in my life, my family, and my community in new and powerful ways

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and  Steffe.