Our Christmas must-do list seems larger and more annoying every year. I rush from day to day, thinking, first I have to do this, then I have to do that. Advent, which should be filled with anticipation, seems overstuffed with obligation. Christmas cards turn into a chore, and don't even get me started on how I feel about hosting Christmas dinner. Somewhere along the way, I stopped wanting to do any of this. I don't think that's what the Bible means when it says, "Prepare ye the way of Lord."
Mary and Joseph didn't get the chance to prepare their house for Baby Jesus' birth. They were far from home when he was born. But they had already prepared their hearts. Mary accepted the infant Jesus into her womb and her heart when she said "Yes" to the Angel Gabriel. Joseph assented to his role as father of the Savior when he agreed to take Mary as his wife, knowing the baby in her womb was not his. Mary and Joseph both had a chance to say no, but they said yes. God respects our right to say no, to reject and despise him, so that when we say yes we will accept him with our whole heart, our whole mind and our whole soul.
This Advent, I want to remember that I accepted all these holiday-time obligations for the sake of love. Love for God, love for my husband and children, love for our families. This Advent, I will try to tackle my to-do list with the sentiment of "Jesus, I do this for love of you." In that way, I can prepare a grand entrance to let Jesus into my heart, again and for always.
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