Advent Saved Me

Of all the holidays that fill the calendar, the Christmas season has always carried a different weight for me. It is NOT the “most wonderful time of the year” for me. The pace, the expectations, the noise overwhelmed me none of it has ever settled easily in my spirit. And to be honest, childhood memories filled with dread, drunkenness and darkness, all of which deeply affected how I move in the world.

But something changed for me around 2016 when I made a gentle decision: I would move through the season differently. I would give myself permission to breathe, to slow down, to not be swept away by everything happening around me.

Observing Advent has become the way I honor that decision.

Advent invites my mind, body, and spirit into a quieter rhythm. It gives me space to sit honestly with both anticipation and the ache of waiting. In the middle of the sights and sounds of a world that often feels broken, exhausted, or overwhelmed, Advent becomes a sanctuary, reminding me that long ago, people lived with the same longings, the same uncertainties, the same questions about what God was doing in the shadows. Truth be told, I’ve asked God more than once, twice or three times about what appears to be God’s lack of care, compassion and comfort during these turbulent times.

In many ways, our 21st-century world feels connected to that ancient world before the manger, before travelers from distant lands set out toward a promise, before a single star signaled that hope was breaking in. The struggles may look different, but the yearning for light, justice, healing, and peace remains the same.

This is why Advent is meaningful to me.

It offers a slower way to move through the season.

It encourages me to notice the small flickers of hope that appear when life feels dim.

It reminds me that God meets us not in the rush, but in the stillness, right in the middle of whatever we carry.

And in that sacred pause, I find room to breathe… and room to believe that something holy is drawing near once again.

Will you sit with me, awaiting, expecting, anticipating?