Making Room
Ron Harmon, Council of Twelve Apostles
Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. -2 Timothy 2:22
If you take the northern route from Kansas City, Missouri, to Orange, California, you encounter gently rolling plains, majestic mountains, uninhabitable desert, and eventually sandy beaches. It is a breath-taking journey, one that awakens deeper thoughts, awareness, and gratitude for that which defies description. It is more expedient to fly, but then one misses the grand landscape and elongated moments to contemplate the beauty of it all.
It had been a long day of driving. As I stopped at several hotels, I soon discovered advanced reservations may have been a good idea. I remember the feeling of being turned away at multiple stops along the way. Would I find a place for rest or continue my tired pursuit in hopes of a welcome place to stay?
I wonder at times how the message of peace finds room in our lives-lives connected to a super highway of constant tweets, instant messages, news updates, and the latest deals online. Where is the exit to the inner life, where unexplored dreams and hopes are released in healing words and restorative actions? How does one pause in the spaces between tasks and places to retreat to the inner sanctuary of connectedness and peace?
For me, the journey to Bethlehem is an opportunity to drive rather than fly. It is the ancient invitation to pause and consider how the simplicity of the Advent story speaks powerfully to the fragmented reality of our lives. It is a gentle reminder to decelerate and disconnect externally to make room for what could emerge internally. It is a nudging toward new stirrings, possibilities, and resolute clarity for the journey ahead.
May we make room this Advent season for the One who initially found no room in earthly dwellings. May our lives be the threshold where others find new pathways to Christ’s peace.
Prayer Phrase
God with us.
Spiritual Practice
Take time each day in this season to notice what feels most alive in you. Spend some time holding the feeling, and ask what it may be trying to tell you about the Spirit at work in your life. Notice what it may be forming in you. Pay attention to where it may lead. How can what is most life-giving reveal the presence and invitation of God in and around us.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
