I love Advent. The shorter days, the longer nights. The colder temps. At least for us in the Northern Hemisphere. A lot of people don’t like the cold and the snow and the longer nights, but to me there is a general coziness about it. It’s a time to grab a blanket, sit by the fire, sip on a warm beverage, turn off the TV and just be together. The Norwegians even have a word for it – koselig– which means a sense of coziness. Be togetherwith friends and family. And in the sense of Advent, be together with God.
It’s a time to reflect as another calendar year ends, and a new liturgical year begins. It’s a time to listen. A time to reboot so to speak, a time to repent and make amends, a time to return to God after a busy year. A time to return to prayer and wait. Yes, it’s a time to wait for His coming – both as we celebrate His birth in a few weeks but also as He comes to us, to speak to us in our soul.
And when we do this, when we wait for Him to speak to us and take the time to listen, we see His abundance.
Have you ever felt His abundance? Have you ever witnessed it?
In the U.S., on the last Thursday of November, we celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday where we do just that, give thanks for our blessings and abundance with which we have been provided. Yes, we all have things to be thankful for in this life, and Thanksgiving is a day to do so along with friends and family.
And then immediately after Thanksgiving, our society transitions right into the Christmas season, where abundance is commercialized and glorified to the point where it becomes an idol, our god. This is the wrong kind of abundance.
The abundance I’m talking about, the abundance I’m asking you about is God’s Abundance – the times He has provided you with more than you need, more than you can imagine, simply out of His sheer love for you – regardless of who you are or if you even deserve it.
You see, in the gospel today, Jesus didn’t just provide enough food for the crowds to eat and simply get by, but He provided so much that there were seven baskets left over. Seven! More than enough. An abundance. Everyone had their fill and then some… This is Gods abundance. He provides the blessings that we need – and then some.
Do you see it? To me, this is what this time of year is all about, to see Gods Abundance in the midst of all the abundance. Some may think it’s too difficult in the middle of all the commercialism, but I see the exact opposite. I see this as an opportunity – an opportunity to regroup and reset and return – to Him. An opportunity to reflect on what He has given us, and what is yet to come, and how we can be a conduit of His abundance to others.
Enjoy the coziness of this season. Enjoy the time together – the time together with Christ – and simply enjoy and be grateful for His Abundance.
