Advent is important to me.  It is a period of waiting and preparing for new life to come, for the light to return, for God to break into our lives and become flesh, for restoring and discerning, for all of that to be a period of intention.  All of this is preparation.  All of this is wanting to prepare my heart and body for next steps.  This Advent life feels a little different and yet these days before we leave for the States for the month, we are definitely preparing.

There is a different kind of preparation going.  We are preparing to be away from our home to go home.  We are preparing to see people and getting our things in order.  We are still prepping gifts and thinking about light and dark but we aren’t decorating as much.  We are preparing for someone to stay in our home while we are away and trying to figure out the best way to clear space.

Personally, I am also preparing to see people that I love but I know I will feel differently about this place that I call home after being away in a totally different place for 6 months.  Things have happened to me that I can’t really explain to the people back home and their lives have continued on as well.  We keep each other in the know but it is so different that actually walking alongside one another. I know that this homecoming for a month will come with all sorts of emotions and in between feelings.  It is brand new for me to also prepare myself to miss certain things in Berlin.  A dear friend of mine just texted that she already misses me and I had to agree!

Advent is a time of waiting and as we start to pack our things to go, I know the waiting is very different this year in this in between space.