Advent Reflection

Once upon a December, there were three boys playing at a sandbox.

They were happily burying their hands inside the grains of the warm sand, hiding stones they found outside of the box. Although the grains were warm enough to slightly bite the skin of their little palms, the boys continued touching it as if it comforted them. They liked the way the sand came in bits and pieces, flowing in between their fingers like water. They liked the way the sand felt; the slight itch its texture gave them. They were in pure bliss. 

The three boys’ families were near the swings, far away from the sandbox, chattering endlessly about how each of their children was growing up so fast. The three little boys, however, continued playing in the sand with their sun on their shoulders. Beads of sweat were trickling down the sides of their necks, but they still played with uninterrupted joy. If they thought it was a normal day, they were wrong, because as they were playing, an angel appeared to them

.

“Be not afraid,” the angel said. 

 “Who are you?” One of the boys asked.

“I am a messenger.”

The boys couldn’t understand. They didn’t feel scared, but they felt confused.

“By the end of today, I will come to take you.” The angel said.

One of the boys looked over his shoulder, eying his parents worriedly. “Where?”

“To Heaven.”

Then, the angel began to explain to them that all of them will die by the end of the day. Hearing this, the first two boys stood up and got out of the sandbox. They ran towards their families and then spent the rest of the day showing how much they loved them. Those two boys did everything they could to spend their last day on earth meaningfully. The third boy however, remained in the sandbox, playing with the grains with a smile on his face.

“Little boy, why are you still here?” The angel asked, confused.

The little boy shrugged. “I like it here.”

“Do you not want to spend your last day with your family? Do you not want to say or show them how much you really love them?”

“I do. I love them very much.”

“Then why are you still here?”

“Because,” the boy laughed. “I already did all those things.”

The angel stared at him, still confused.

“Momma and Papa know how much I love them. I show it to them every day.” The little boy explained. “I’m ready to go. I’m just waiting for my friends.”

Now take a look back at this story. 

The little boy stayed at the sandbox and continued playing. This was because he had done everything he was supposed to do. He lived his days as if he was going to die tomorrow; which meant that he already had spent his life doing what has to be done without wasting a minute doing unnecessary things. I feel as if this is similar to the meaning of Advent.

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning the arrival or coming. Traditionally, Advent counts down the four weeks leading up to Christmas. Practically, Advent reminds us to look forward to His return every day. This season is about resetting Jesus Christ at the center of our lives. After all, when He comes to take us home forever, we want to be ready.

Ready. That’s what Advent is about, being ready. The little boy stayed at the sandbox waiting for his friends, ready to go home to Heaven because deep down he knew that he has done his purpose on earth. That is very similar to the whole Advent tradition. We ready ourselves to the coming of Christ. We ready ourselves for His return, so that when the time comes we can gladly tell Him that we have done our purpose in this world and we can offer everything to Him with pleasure.

Advent shouldn’t just be practiced during the month of December. It actually should practiced every day in our lives, because, we never really know when God will take us. But when He does, will we be able to say that we’re ready?

As we wait for the coming of Christ, we ponder on our sins, the things we are thankful for, our blessings, our miracles. We do a lot of pondering. But this is because as we wait, we remember what Christ has done for us in the first place. As we wait, we remember how His life changed us. And that tradition itself; reminds us in spirit who we truly are in this world. It reminds us that we have to be ready for His return. We have to live life as if we were to die tomorrow, so that you live without regrets. You give you life to the Lord without remorse or guilt. And you come back to Him, prepared to be taken home.

I feel like this is the meaning of Advent; being prepared for the coming of Christ. Prepared enough that if He comes to bring us home, we can follow Him happily towards heaven. Prepared enough to tell Him that everything you made out of your life is your gift to Him.

“Live life as if you were to die tomorrow…”
-Ghandi