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This post is the second of two reflections on Advent by Wellness Advocate Caren Swanson.  For Part I, .

It is easy to romanticize Advent and the Christmas season as being full of special time with family and friends, when the reality is often much more complex.  No matter how much we try to “simplify,” dealing with family is NEVER simple, and neither is shepherding a congregation through this sacred season.  Though I do believe that God longs to draw us into a holy Advent, and nourish our souls with the wonder of the Incarnation, the kind of holy waiting that this calls for can be difficult to cultivate in the midst of work and family responsibilities.

Over the years of creating my own traditions with my little family, I’ve found some resources that help me “wait well.”  The first is candlelight.  Much to my daughter’s annual delight, for the four weeks before Christmas, we actively limit our use of electric lights and illuminate our house with candles and a few old-fashioned oil lamps.  This helps attune our bodies to the gathering dark outside our windows as the days grow to their shortest, and powerfully quiets our spirits in a way we have come to cherish.  It’s pretty hard to be stressed when your home is filled with candlelight!  (Don’t worry folks, we don’t let them burn unattended!)  Listening to beloved Christmas music in the semi-darkness is one of my favorite ways to spend a December evening.

Another thing that helps me “wait well” is a handful of books that help me dig deep into the mystery of the Incarnation and my soul’s own deep longing for the Light of Christ.  My favorite such book is called ” It contains selections from a diverse array of writers, fromthe Elizabethan poet John Donne to the contemporary essayist Annie Dillard, not to mention countless spiritual greats like Bonhoeffer, Merton, and Nouwen.  My family has also enjoyed the study guide, “” by Mary Lou Redding.  A new Advent book that I am looking forward to reading is by the recent Duke Divinity graduate, Enuma Okoro, titled .  (Read an interview with her about the book .)

There are numerous other single-author collections of Advent meditations, designed to be dipped into daily, or meditations on the daily lectionary passages.  Find one by an author you enjoy, and allow it to speak to you and draw you deeper into the riches of the season.  Or find some small tradition that quiets you in the midst of the busyness.  Allow yourself to be nourished by small gestures of stillness, even in the midst of mounting responsibilities and expectations.  Trust that God will light your way.

–Words and images by Caren Swanson