Preparing for Christ

Advent. Means “arrival” or “coming.” I’ve always loved that the Church gives us a special time to prepare for Christ’s coming at Christmas. Being able to reflect on the beauty, simplicity, and complexity of Jesus’ birth has always filled me with a sense of peace and expectation. So when my family celebrates the season of Advent, we try to instill in our children the same sense of beauty, simplicity, and yet complexity of the season. 

Traditions take the central role during Advent in our house because there is something wonderful in the repeated rituals of life. There are so many beautiful and different traditions that it’s easy to get caught up in the feeling of “needing to do it all,” and the extra pressure that they are all so wonderful and good and unique in their own ways can feel like a we

ight on my soul. Over the years, Burk and I have been able to pare down our celebration to what works for our family in this season of our lives.

Being able to reflect on the beauty, simplicity, and complexity of Jesus’ birth has always filled me with a sense of peace and expectation.

And this season of our lives, with three younger children and full time jobs, is what Burk and I like to call a beautiful mess. So every Advent eve we frantically look for the box labeled “Christmas (and Advent)” in our attic to pull out our Advent wreath and Jesse Tree. Luckily, my dad often texts the family to remind us to buy Advent candles a week or two before. I grew up loving the ritual of lighting the candles on the Advent wreath, and my children now love to help blow out the candles every night. Having such a simple, yet complex symbol of Advent sitting on our table makes it easy to foster the conversations of preparing our hearts for Christmas. The candles, the colors, the shape, the prayers are all little reminders of the season, and the fact that we see it every meal helps keep those reminders present to us.

Our other main tradition is to follow the story of Man’s fall and need for salvation through the Jesse Tree. Taking its name from the passage “and there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root,” (Is. 11:1) our Jesse Tree uses different ornaments to symbolize the coming of Jesus. My children love putting the ornaments up and reading the Bible passage that goes along with each one. Every year, I also am able to reflect on something new each time we read the story of our salvation. What a beautiful love that our God has for us! 

A newer tradition we try to do every year is to pray for all the people who send us Christmas cards!

A newer tradition we try to do every year is to pray for all the people who send us Christmas cards! During Advent and Christmas we keep them displayed and the kids will pick a family to pray for each night. After Christmas we keep all the cards in a box and throughout the year we will pull out different cards and pray for each family. 

During Advent, and all times of year, our life gets chaotic, busy, and messy. It is such a blessing to have our Advent traditions that keep us grounded and focused on Christ. 

-Catherine, Lighthouse member