Adventure
Hello friends and welcome back to the blog! It has been a while since I have posted on here…college has kept me busy, that’s for sure! But today is a special day: it is December 1st! There are so many fun things that come along with it being the month of December. Thanksgiving has passed and it is time for us to get in the Christmas spirit! The trees are being trimmed, the halls are being decked, and we are counting down the days until the 25th! Can you tell Christmas is my favorite holiday?! With all the excitement and the hustle and bustle of this time of year, there is also a very special season that we enter into during the month of December, and that is the season of advent. Let’s start off by defining advent. Honestly, it has not been something that I have regularly thought about each Christmas season, so I am learning too! Advent is a season of the Christian calendar that is celebrated by most denominations and lasts between 22 to 28 days. Advent is a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmastime, the second coming of Christ, and the promises that God has made to His people. One of my favorite things to do is look up the dictionary definitions of words. If you have read any of my other blog posts, you know that! So, the dictionary definition of the word advent is: “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event”. It comes from the latin word “adventus”, which means “arrival”. The word “adventus” is made up of two other latin words: “ad” meaning “to” and “venire” meaning “come”. So quite literally, the word advent means “to come”.
Now that we have discussed the origin and literal meaning of the word advent, I want to talk about what it means for us as Believers during this season. I think that there is major significance to the fact that this time of advent is not just a time of typical waiting. Waiting can often be associated with inactivity. I don’t know about you, but when I have had to wait on things for long periods of time, it seems to just endlessly go on and on with no end in sight. It can be discouraging, repetitive, and honestly, quite boring. This season of advent redefines what it means to wait. This season calls us to a different and higher form of waiting. A form of waiting that constantly keeps the end goal in mind. Waiting with expectation. This is the kind of waiting in which we know clearly and remind ourselves of the reason for which we are waiting. It is also a season in which the end result of our waiting is very very near.
Now, the title of this blog post is “adventure”. I was thinking about this the other day and it came to mind that nestled in the word “adventure” is the word “advent”. And how fitting is that? “Adventure” is a word that people use quite often. “That trip was an adventure!”, “Let’s go on a spontaneous adventure”, and so forth. The dictionary definition of the word “adventure” is: “an unusual and exciting experience or activity”. That sounds exactly like the Gospel story to me. A baby born of a virgin is unusual and a Savior who has come to rescue and redeem the world from sin and death is certainly exciting. This season of advent is an adventure. With God, there is no telling what He is going to do or how He is going to show up.
Waiting on the promises of the Lord for a long time can be extremely tiring and leave you feeling like you just want to give up and throw in the towel. But the season of advent is here. Let this be a reminder to your heart that God is in the business of doing amazing things in sometimes unusual and always exciting ways. Wait with a holy expectation because His promises are right around the corner.
Dear Lord, thank you for this season of advent. Thank you that you sent your one and only Son to die for our sins and redeem creation. Help us to recognize that we are now in a season of joyful, hopfeful, and holy expectation for the coming of your promises. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
