Preparing for Advent

Every year, I’m excited for Advent, but I always get caught up in the busyness of the holidays, and by the time I catch my breath, the season has come and gone. I want to do something a little different this year that forces me to meditate on the four themes of Advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. I'm thrilled to announce I will be writing and publishing a series of short stories during Advent, focusing on these key themes.

What Is Advent?

Advent is a season observed by most Christian denominations in the weeks leading up to Christmas. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and each week focuses on a different theme. This year, Advent is November 30 through December 24. 

It is a time of expectation, preparation, and celebration. There are three primary reasons Christians observe the Advent season. First is the anticipation of the birth of Christ. Next is the second coming of Christ—when Jesus will return, fulfill Messianic prophecy, and claim victory over evil. Last is to prepare our hearts to experience the fullness of God’s love.

It’s really easy to get distracted by the commercialization and frantic pace of the holiday season. With shopping, family events, activities, concerts, celebrations, and gatherings, there is little room left for meditation and remembrance. We must make time for it.

I have always celebrated Advent. Whether I was at a Baptist, non-denominational, Anglican, or Pentecostal church, an Advent wreath always decorated the stage and played a central role in worship during those few weeks. Yet it’s only been recently that I've really learned the true meaning of Advent and dug into the liturgical practices surrounding this time of year.

What Are Advent Wreaths?

LMP 2001, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

You may be familiar with Advent wreaths — evergreen wreaths with five candles: three purple candles, one pink candle, and one white candle. Different traditions vary slightly in symbolism, but here is a general overview of what the wreath and candles symbolize: 

• The wreath itself symbolizes God’s everlasting love. It has no beginning or end—it is infinite.

• The purple candles symbolize hope, peace, and love.

• The pink candle symbolizes joy.

• The white candle symbolizes Christ. This candle is not always included in the wreath.

These candles are lit on each Sunday of Advent leading up to Christmas, and the Christ candle is lit on Christmas Eve.

How I’m Planning to Celebrate

By no means am I an expert on Advent. I am still learning, but I wanted to do something special this year to help myself observe the season. I woke up one morning in mid-November and thought writing a series of short stories could be a way to help me engage with those feelings of hope, peace, joy, and love.

Starting next Sunday, November 30, I will publish my first short story themed around hope. Each of these stories will be part of a series that features the same characters and setting. I want to explore the themes of Advent and what they can mean for us in a broken world—how Christ’s light illuminates even the darkest of seasons.

While the themes will be overt, Christianity may not be. As a Christian who is an author, I don't consider myself a Christian author because I'm not writing primarily for Christians. I don't anticipate that any of my books or stories will be published by publishing houses like LifeWay or Zondervan. As a Christian and an author, Christ will make His love known through my work, whether or not I am overtly writing about Christianity. That is my hope for these short stories.

How You Can Get Involved

I also want to ask you, my readers, for help. If you know someone who is in need of hope, peace, joy, or love this holiday season, please consider sharing the stories on your social platforms or through email and text message. I'm going to try to keep them short and sweet—probably around 2,500 words each. And while my audience of readers is primarily women, these stories will be timeless and universal. So even if you're one of my outliers, I encourage you to come along for the journey because there are nuggets of truth in there for you, too.

I'm really excited for Advent this year. I am planning to put out my wreath right after Thanksgiving, and I've already started decorating the house a little bit for Christmas. I hope that this upcoming short story collection will help me focus on what’s important and encourage you to do the same.

May this season draw us closer to the fullness of hope, peace, joy, and love that we are waiting for.