During this time of preparation for Christmas, Advent offers us a beautiful opportunity to grow in faith while we are waiting.

Whether we’re playing Wordle or entering Advent, we might not begin the same way every time.

I had to trust there was more space than there seemed to be. There must be, since there was a smiling attendant waving us on.

To be clear, I wouldn’t describe myself as a rutabaga enthusiast. It’s just that you can’t have Thanksgiving without rutabaga.

During this season of gratitude, we might offer standard words or new ones to thank God for his many blessings. He is with us at our dinner table, following along with the conversations, enjoying the connections and perhaps marveling at how the little ones are growing and participating in new ways. 

I realize there is a glove in each pocket, long forgotten and left behind from last winter.

I love when I walk up for Communion, hold out my hands for the Eucharist, and the priest gives me a piece of the host that he has just consecrated.

I never know what to say, but I know how to be present. And I have to hope that that’s enough.

Whatever new challenges you undertake during this season, may you find they give you strength, clarity of purpose or whatever you are seeking on your faith journey. 

I love thinking of God’s love in that way, how he loves us simply as we are, with no expectation for what we might achieve.