Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.     

Luke 3:4b

Dear family and friends of Christ Church,

This past weekend, with leftover Thanksgiving turkey tucked away in the refrigerator, our family took a road trip to the attic. We haven’t spent much time there since our July move. Boxes we didn’t really have a place for in our new home (or just didn’t want to deal with) were still there, collecting dust. But then, stored safely in the corner, we found the bins and boxes marked “Christmas”. And so, it began.

The kids asked Alexa to play Christmas music. The placement of stockings was discussed and decided. Jenny checked YouTube for some garland hanging tips. A few hours later, the four of us took stock of our handiwork, and Jonathan commented, “I think we’re ready”.

Oh, that preparing our hearts and spirits for the coming of Christ were so easy!

Holy acts of preparation are, it seems to me, the focus of these December weeks. How do we prepare ourselves to most fully receive the precious gift of the babe in Bethlehem? For some of us, it may involve clearing out some of the spiritual cobwebs that can collect and cloud our relationship with God, one another, and our own best self. Preparation often involves cleaning house and shining lights into those basement and attic corners we can so often overlook and avoid. All this so that, as John the Baptist invites, God’s path to us would be straight and focused.