December 7

We invited our neighborhood to a Christmas party last night. Weeks ago I slipped invites into a dozen nearby mailboxes, inviting them for hors d'eouvres and beverages, and asking them to bring a small plate of something sweet. Two dozen new friends attended, and we had an excellent time reacquainting, and also meeting some for the first time.

Of course yesterday was a FULL day of cleaning, cooking and finishing the decor. This year Thanksgiving was late, and Christmas is suddenly upon us. Although I've puttered my way through a few decorations, there was A LOT to do as of yesterday morning. That's why I like to be the hostess: there's nothing like a deadline to get things moving! Due to the extensive help given by our 16 year old, the house was officially READY for Christmas as of 5 pm.

At about noon I was emptying and scrubbing out the refrigerator. I knew that the guests would be in and out of the fridge to get beverages, and the spills and crumbs just had to go. Somehow when guests are coming in, things get cleaned that otherwise tend to be ignored. It's not that we're slobs, but we always live with some level of uncleanliness - whether the kitchen sink is a bit scummy, the floor contains a few crumbs, the washer and dryer have spilled detergent and lint, the stove and refrigerator retain a few spills... Since I do have interests OTHER than cleaning, daily living does build up.

Until we have guests. So many times my family has asked me....WHY are you cleaning that? WHO is going to see that?

My answer has usually been, 'If I don't clean this for guests, when will I ever clean it?" I take advantage of the visit to force myself to go a step or two beyond normal cleaning.


And yesterday, as I was scrubbing the area under the vegetable drawer (it definitely needed scrubbing,) it occurred to me that Advent is a preparation for the arrival of a guest. We take a month to anticipate His arrival, and we clean things up a bit in preparation. The problem is that it is so easy to focus on the outward preparation: preparation that is often focused on the arrival of other guests, who allegedly are also focused on Him. (but likely caught up in the season of His birth rather than on Him) It's easier to prepare our surroundings than our hearts.

Jesus IS the reason for the season. The parties are for Him.

And while the extra entertaining, the traditions, the family gatherings are all good things, they are not THE thing. We all need to focus on some internal cleaning, some internal preparation for Him. While He is always within us as believers, and in a perfect world we would be internally anticipating Him moment by moment, as humans we need constant reminders, annual observances and celebrations. We need that "guest" mentality to kick us into gear. And so each year I do concentrate on Advent. We as a family do light the Advent candle on Sunday evenings. We do a few extra family devotionals. And I, as an individual, try to keep that urgency of doing some annual internal scrubbing in anticipation of worshiping at His birth in an even more intimate fashion than the year before.

Just as my home couldn't get guest worthy in a day if I did not keep up daily cleaning all year round, my general habit of daily time with Him is the background for a truly meaningful Christmas. Yet, just as the power scrub concentration of a few days does remarkable things to ready my home for guests, a month of focused attention to Him and His birth can allow me a *cleaner* worship experience.

It's December 7th already. How is your heart cleaning going?