Well, we’re halfway there. Advent is half over and Christmas is just a couple weeks away.
Are you feeling the pressure yet? Has your holiday spirit suffered from the hustle, bustle, and too much to eat?
How’s your anticipation quotient? Are you slipping from excited expectation into dread and loathing?
We are just a handful of days away from turning the calendar page into a whole new year.
Where has the time gone?
As I pondered this, I was reminded of Paul’s words to the Colossians: Make the most of every opportunity. (4:5b, NIV)
It’s really hard to do that if we’re not living intentionally. If we have allowed ourselves to get swept up in the current of the culture and buy into the prevailing mentality of fast is best and the one with the most on their calendar wins.
Christms comes every year, right about this time. And typically when it’s all over I will finally take a deep breath and thank God for getting me through another one.
I hate feeling that way. I don’t think it really pleases God either.
So I have taken Paul’s words as my mantra for this season. Every opportunity, every moment, is a gift that God has given me and I’m going to make the most of it.
A very funny and dear man has described this as holy appointments and divine interuptions–or something like that. Essentially every moment is a God-ordained opportunity to be salt and light, to touch the lives of others with the love and grace of God. God has something for us and for us to do and be.
Don’t run out of time. You’ll never run out of opportunities.
Pot of Manna 