Shiny Black Shoes

I stood in the front of the room, staring in fascination at my shiny black shoes. My mom had polished them the night before, buffing them with an old rag until the soft leather gleamed like polished obsidian. If I moved my feet just right I could catch a reflection from the overhead lights on the shoes' shiny surface.

I looked up. 

A huge wreath hung suspended from the ceiling, decorated with four purple candles that pointed upward to heaven. It was the church’s advent wreath. The candles would be lit each of the four Sundays before Christmas. Our family had been chosen to light them that morning.

My siblings and I stood in wide-eyed wonder, staring out at the congregation from the front of the church, a viewpoint that was new to us, as my dad and mom lit the candle high above our heads. The room smelled of pine boughs and candle wax.

"Jesus came as a light to the world," the pastor said as my dad lowered the candle lighter.

The flame flickered, joining the early morning sunlight coming through the stain glass windows. The room danced with color. It bounced off the walls and off my shiny black shoes. I stood entranced.

Another year of advent had begun.

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning coming. It is a time of reflection, of remembering Jesus first coming as a baby to earth so many years ago.

Although I no longer light candles as part of my holiday tradition, I still like to take time during the rush of the season to have a time of personal advent. To reflect. Meditate. To prepare my heart for the coming of Christmas, the coming of Christ.

Do you have a time of personal advent?