The Cars Zooming Past

   I was sitting at our men's table group that gathers at 6:00 AM on Tuesdays. There was a lull in the conversation for guys to eat and I found myself gazing out the windows. The headlights of the cars, moving quickly past the Chick-fil-a on Highway 96, seemed to appear out of nowhere and continue on into the darkness. The shape of a school bus caught my attention, as it crossed under the traffic lights going north on Houston Lake Road, zipping along and heading to its first stop.
   "This is a great big world," I thought to myself. Something in that moment tugged at my heart. It has stayed with me.
   I had been thinking ahead to two morning meetings, a list of a dozen things that had to get done that day, and a week filled with opportunities to 'advance the ball down the field' for the church and God's work in our community. Yet, something about those cars moving past gave me reason to pause: every car, truck, and even school bus was loaded with expectations of a new day and all the tasks to be accomplished. We are all more alike than we often realize.

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   The season of Advent begins this week. Observed in churches around the world as a time of waiting and expectation for the arrival of a child born in a manger, the word itself is derived from the Latin word meaning "coming." Advent is about preparing for Christ to come into the world. Paul tells us, "But when the fulfillment of the time came, God sent his Son, born through a woman..."

   Maybe it was a little bit of Advent moving in my heart on Tuesday morning. The Holy Spirit works just like that. I certainly need to be daily reminded of my small place in the world. Christmas is like a reset button, reminding me that even though I am small, God's plans include me and everyone else zooming through life.
   My prayer is that we would allow the word of God, heard in worship and through our own personal devotional life, to take root in our hearts to prepare a place for Christ to enter again this Christmas. God has plans for us and for everyone. Plans for our good and his greatness. Grace and peace, Scott