
Rachel M. Bulman offers encouragement to slow down, wait, and awaken ourselves to what Advent could be.
We were late. It seems to be a running gag for our 8-person crew. There’s always someone that won’t buckle in without mom, someone who can’t find a belt, and someone who remembers that one thing they absolutely cannot live without just as we are pulling out of the driveway. So, we were late, but we had just gotten to the parking lot by the soccer fields and started to rush across the mud and grass to get to soccer practice when I no longer could hear my son’s footsteps behind mine. I stopped to look back and he was standing about 10 yards behind me, head back, staring at the sky.
“Hey, buddy. We are late. We gotta keep going!”
“But, Mom, LOOK! It’s so beautiful.”
I followed his gaze which lingered on the clouds laying over a brilliant two-tone mingling of orange and blue skies. And he was right. It was beautiful. I stopped and we gazed together until my gaze moved from the heavens to the little bit of Heaven standing next to me.
Children are philosophers. They love wisdom in such a deep way that sometimes it annoys us far too old enough to understand. I heard someone once say that philosophy is the practice of learning what children naturally understood. And, in that moment there in the muddy soccer parking lot, my son was struck by the wisdom that was painted across the sky. It was too beautiful to rush by and too overwhelming to ignore.
The season of Advent naturally beckons within us a longing for a true wait. As the liturgical strings pull against the commercialization and preparation of Christmas, there’s a tension that sometimes feels too heavy, but the tension is a call to awaken ourselves to what Advent could be.
In Advent, we prepare for something greater
You see, there’s a slight difference between our preparation for Christmas and our preparation for day-to-day life. Both instances are filled with a certain urgency because deadlines are coming, expectations are set and there’s always one last thing to do. Both instances can become mind-numbingly busy if we don’t intentionally take control of our calendars and realize that practicing saying no is a gift to your family and it’s always a gift to rest. But the season of Advent prepares for something far greater than any other “busy time” of the year. We are preparing for the moment that God became man and dwelt among us.
This isn’t just a fairy tale moment or a retelling of something that happened long ago. No, this is a reality that changes our own reality. It makes every moment worth living and the Incarnation — God becoming man — becomes the lens in which we are able to truly see the world. It’s not just about the gifts and the trees and the beautiful carols. It’s about the greatest gift of all, born to die on a tree, and the endless refrain of his love for us.
Realize what you are meant for
There are many of us who shy away from any trappings of Christmas for very good reasons, but the movements of our hearts during this season are not to be ignored and attached to the accouterments of seasonal joy and seasonal cheer. No, this is an invitation to realize what you are meant for: a tender heart, reasons to practice kindness unending, and stopping to take in the moment because this moment belongs to Christ.
As the days of Advent pass by, resist the urge to rush. Light the candles slowly. Put away your phone. Read a book. Sing every verse of the carol. Stop and see how Christ has been calling you every day to come and adore Him. It’s not just a season. It’s a life of conversion.
And, if you don’t stop and look up, you may miss the best chance to see His handiwork in splendid array before you. May your Advent be a revelation of His deep love, His endless pursuit of your heart, and His desire for you to live every day in joyful hope of encountering Him — everywhere.
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Copyright 2024 Rachel Bulman
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About the Author

Rachel M. Bulman
Rachel Bulman joined the Catholic Church in 2008. She is a wife, mother, writer, and speaker, but most of all, she is a child of God. She has a weakness for the Eucharist and really good ice cream, obviously not at the same time. Get to know more about Rachel at RachelBulman.com or follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @rachelbulman.
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