Although I’ve grown up knowing of God and going to church my entire life, my family and the churches I went to never practiced Advent. Chessie and her family do and she has brought that practice here on the Race, and I’ve been completely Loving it.
For those of you that also don’t celebrate advent, here’s what it is: there are five candles, the Prophesy candle(or Hope candle), the Bethelhem candle(or Preparation candle), the Sheperd’s candle(or Joy candle), the Angel candle(or Love candle), and the last is the Christ candle. Starting on the first Sunday of December we light the Prophesy candle and begin singing O Come O Come Emanuel (only the first verse) then we read a few Bible verses of the Old Testament prophets foretelling His coming and a devotional and finish by singing three choice Christmas carols and extinguish the candle. Every night we light the same candle, only one, until the next Sunday when we light the Bethelhem candle and add the second verse to O Come O Come Emanuel and read all the verses according to that and so on until each of the four candles is lit preceding Christmas day and on Christmas day we will light the Christ candle and leave it lit all day!!
We began this last Sunday and as we sang the carols I actually saw angels surrounding us, singing along(!) and every night as we do it I have felt the presence of the Father So intensely throughout it all, it’s been otherworldly! I can’t begin to describe the utter joy of His presence in those moments as we continue this practice each night and Proverbs 8:30-31 says it beautifully, “Then I was constantly at His side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in His presence, rejoicing in His whole world and delighting in mankind.”(NIV)
So for all of you that have yet to try preparing your heart for the Christ’s birth, I highly suggest it!! It’s an amazing way to invite Him into your space each night with family and also brings the true meaning of Christmas front and center of our thoughts and time as it should be! I plan to practice this tradition in the years to come for sure! And thank you to all my financial supporters for playing a role in getting me here, where God has called me, and in doing so bringing me to places and people I can learn such things from while growing in my relationship with God and fulfilling my role in His Kingdom! God bless you all and thank you again! Some of my teammates still need to fundraise, Cheree especially needs some God-sent providence in this way so if you are willing and able please donate to Cheree Isbell soon, our deadline is coming up!! Thank you!
