Advent: An Honest Retelling

Am I the only one who suffers from Advent amnesia each year? Who dreams of children happily making Christmas crafts and cheerfully putting on coats to attend holiday events as the snow drifts slowly down?

Instead we started the first Sunday of Advent: at home with a broken-down car, children hyped up from vacation, a birthday party, and the first snowfall -- and squabbling, non-stop squabbling.The toddlers have been a mess. The volume and energy has been through the roof.

Then a few days in, I heard a crash in the kitchen. The two-year-old had managed to break a large snowglobe and was standing in a sea of water, broken glass, and iridescent glitter. With an order to the older kids to keep the toddlers and the dog out of the room, I started picking up broken glass, mopping up water and trying to find a way to remove the glitter slick that was seeping into the cracks between the tiles.Then the toddler, who was screaming and trying to hurl himself into the room, grew quiet. I did not know at the time that it was because his sister had come up with the ingenious solution of attaching a dog leash to his belt buckle. Then as the steam was about to pour out of my ears, I hear children's voices float in from the hallway, "Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel."

December is a hard time to be a homeschool parent. It's a hard time to be a public school teacher, a day care provider, or a stay at home parent. Being a parent of young children in December makes it abundantly clear how much we need someone to save us!

Maybe that is what we need during Advent. The world that Jesus came to save was not dressed in its season's best. The candles weren't lit. The world was dark, chaotic, and there was an awful lot of squabbling. There were things that were broken, toddlers screaming, and parents who didn't know if they would make it through the season. It was a world that needed to cry out, "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel."

So I have this special prayer for you parents out there this Christmas, (which may or may not be based on my own experiences):

When snowglobes are broken and ornaments break,
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

When screaming toddlers must be carried out of Hobby Lobby,
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

When siblings can't get along and no one wants to share,
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

When much-anticipated Christmas events begin and end with epic tantrums,
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

When lines are too long and stores are crowded, and everything is just too loud,
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

When rolling out cookies leads to Mommy meltdowns,
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

When attitudes are bad and parents are feeling grinchy,
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

When your lovely educational plans collapse,
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

When another Christmas movie afternoon is all you can handle,
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

When you threaten to cancel Christmas yet again,
 Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel

In all the chaos and excitement that is December with children, I pray that you will have quiet moments of restoration too, that you will feel the freedom to let go of anything you just can't handle, even if it seems like a lot of fun. I hope that each week will bring a little more light to disperse the gloomy clouds of night.

Rejoice, Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, Oh Israel!