When it comes to matters of Scripture, I like to stay away from the question, what does it mean to me. I do not get to decide what I want scripture to mean. I understand the questions, how does this apply to my life, what is God telling me through this scripture, and how am I going to put this into practice; but the question, what does this scripture mean to me, gives the sense that I am the judge and master that can choose to interpret the words of God as I see fit.
However, that rabbit trail aside, Advent is not scriptural, and so I think there is room to ask the question, what does Advent mean to you. Without a doubt that question should be asked, and the answer should be sought, within a framework of asking God for His guidance and will; but Advent is not the sort of thing that you can search scriptures for direct guidance.
To chase another rabbit trail, I have serious qualms about the observance of Lent in many churches. In a world of so much darkness, that celebrates death (zombies and vampires) at every turn, should the church really spend 40 days each year acting as if we have not been saved, set free, and given abundant life?
But back to Advent, how do I want to observe it this year?
I certainly want to do more than I did as a child. I want it to be more than a countdown to Christmas, marked by paper chains or earing-a-day advent calendars, fun as those are. On the other hand, I think the idea of blocking out that Christmas is coming and focusing on the darkness and the wait, is a little masochist. Certainly, we have probably all had dark times where we gave up hope because our wait for God to answer was longer than we expected. But I don’t need to practice that lack of faith and that loss of joy.
We are people of faith. Christ has come. Advent is a time to remember that in His perfect time, He comes, and the waiting and dark times end. Advent should be a time of encouragement. It’s a time to remember that no matter how bad things are now or how long you have waited, God will come even if the wait seems long.
The first day of the Advent scripture writing project was Isaiah 7:14-17. When Isaiah prophesied of the Virgin Birth, no doubt he thought the Messiah’s coming would be sooner than it was. And though the wait was long, God came and triumphed mightily over death.
In my personal life, there are not a lot of things that I am currently waiting for in this season of life. After a lifetime of waiting, I have a husband and a child, and so rather than try to drum up some sense of discontent and anxious waiting, I am just resting in gratefulness and faith. For at least 20 years, each Christmas I hoped that the next Christmas I would have someone in my life. God answered that prayer in his perfect time with his perfect gift. So this Advent, I’m just remembering and praising God that he answers prayer. I want to focus and meditate on that in this season so that the next time the things I’m waiting and wishing for an answer, I will wait in JOYFUL ANTICIPATION.
God Provides for Us 
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