Advent: Week 1, Day 1 -Making Space for God

Linda
3 days ago
2 min read

This nest is rather messy and crowded. It looks chaotic, not welcoming. There doesn't seem to be room for anything but dead twigs and junk; certainly not eggs or baby birds. The sparrow will need to get rid of some unneeded junk, hollow out a space and soften it to welcome new life.

The contents of our nests could be sickness, struggles, tensions, woundedness, pain, sorrow and sadness. It could be busyness and distractions in our everyday lives. It is in the midst of our ordinary circumstances and fragments of our days that God comes to us and asks us to hollow out a welcoming place.

God asks us to create space for him where he has never been before,

or places where he is no longer welcome. All the bits and pieces of our lives,

like those bits and pieces that form the birds’ nests, are where he awaits a

birthing. All of us are meant to know and to deeply appreciate the joy and

privilege of this nesting, of this homing of the God who waits for us to openly

receive the life offered to us. ~Joyce Rupp

Birds have been Yelling

Birds yell at me all day.

Trees try to flag me down.

The sky makes faces.

What does it take

to get

my attention?

In the room the clock taps its foot,

the window opens its eye,

the chair waits for me, patient, knowing.

Silence comes for a long visit,

doesn't even need a chair

to be at ease.

Sunlight leans against a tree.

Finally, God and I

just sit, looking out the window,

saying nothing.

~Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Song: Go Within by Bethani

Reflection:

Sit down. Release the clutter from your mind. Take deep breaths, sit in silence, listen, just be.
Is there anything holding you back from receiving new life? Are there spaces where Jesus is not welcome or spaces in your nest where he has never been before? Let the space where the life of God dwells in you, deepen. You are God's Beloved.

Prayer: Quiet my soul. Come Lord Jesus, dwell within my heart.

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