A Painted Advent

Sometimes when I get my kids a chocolate Advent calendar (Divine Chocolate: fair trade, delicious, dark and milk options and a little bit of the Christmas story under each door) I get a calendar for myself - dark chocolate, of course. This year I didn’t, but I am giving myself a little Advent treat each day.

I understand that not everyone would feel like an art project is a treat, but it certainly is for me. Every day I choose a shade of blue or purple, add water to the pallet and fill one of the panes on my doodled stained glass window. I’ve been surprised at how, over the course of the last two weeks, I’ve had to balance the delight with seeing my window fill with color and the impatience of wanting to just paint all the panes at once.

I had expected this little project to be just a neat way to mark the days of Advent, but it’s turned into an unanticipated exercise in patience and waiting, which is what Advent is all about, after all. With every new color, I’m tempted to just go ahead and finished the picture. With every color I need to remind myself that by the time Christmas comes the image will have become clear and whole.

As we anticipate the arrival of Christ, it is with feelings of longing and impatience. We wonder why we have to experience the discomfort and pain and injustice of the world. We don’t like the mess the world is in and want everything to fixed and whole right now. Why isn’t God doing something?? We can also be assured that little by little, through the work of our own creative hands, God is building up a beautiful creation. That God’s creation is becoming complete. God is both coming and God is here with us now, in every colorful, heartbreaking moment.

I pray that you are all finding meaning and beauty in this Advent, even in the messy middle of life. My practice was inspired by the artist Sybil MacBeth and her work on “Praying in Color.” If you follow that link you’ll find many templates and resources for Advent and well beyond. As a creative person and visual thinker I find her way of understanding prayer to be very meaningful. Maybe you will too. After Christmas I’ll share a picture of the completed window!