Advent

This first season of the Christian Year officially began on Sunday. Advent, from the Latin adventus means "coming". It is a preparatory time to ready one's heart, mind and soul for the gift given to us in the Bethlehem baby.

This year I am acutely aware of preparation, of being ready to receive the gifts of A New Day, and a New Time, for a new generation. This is a season of anticipation. And there is so much for us to look forward to. And so much to that concerns us too.

We may be looking ahead but we're not there yet.

This is our age old conundrum. Life between the now and the not yet.

So how do we live in the meantime?

The best way to live well is to live "as if". Live as if what you most wish for has come to pass. Live as if it will be alright because it will be alright. Live as if your life and your actions make a difference and then see what happens...in that mean time.

Far from being wishful thinking or seeming deep in denial, living as if allows us to stay present to the good that is happening all around us right now. And, it fortifies us to continue the journey in spite of the concern for what might be.

But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:24-25