If you’ve ever lived through home renovations, you know how it goes—dust everywhere, constant noise, and the distraction of chaos in what was once a quiet space. We’re tearing down decks and moving walls, all while trying to keep some semblance of normalcy in the process. We haven’t even started painting. It’s messy, inconvenient, and often a frustrating exercise in impatience. But as Advent approaches, I’m starting to see all this chaos in a new light.
Advent is a season of preparation, a time when we ready ourselves for the coming of Christ. It’s kind of like a renovation project for the soul. Just as we tear down and rebuild parts of our homes, Advent invites us to examine our hearts—what needs to be torn down? What needs to be repaired?
What’s the spiritual equivalent of an outdated bathroom? Do I have a shaky deck with rotting boards in my relationships that need mending? Am I mired in emotional clutter taking up space where Christ could dwell?
Setting Priorities
You can imagine how antsy I’m starting to get. I don’t want to enter the holiday season with a house full of unfinished projects. I don’t want to celebrate Christmas out of boxes. While clearing a section of my desk that was filled with scraps of papers, notes to myself, I paused to read the scribbles from scripture that accounted for many of those scraps. Words of encouragement, some of consolation, the occasional observation from a saint. I settled on the following admonition from St. John the Baptist:
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” (Matthew 3:3)
I love this imagery because it speaks directly to the work of clearing obstacles, making things right, and creating space for what’s to come. That’s what renovations do—they disrupt, but they also renew.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in both physical and spiritual renovation. In the house, I keep thinking, When will this end? In Advent, I think, Am I even making progress?
But here’s the beautiful thing: we have Christ, who is the ultimate renovator of our hearts. He comes into our mess, our unfinished work, and makes it beautiful in ways we can’t imagine.
This Advent, as I live amid the dust and noise, I’m letting it remind me to make room in my life for Jesus. To clear the clutter, tear down the walls of my own making, and allow Him to build something new.
Maybe your life feels a little under construction, too. Take heart—this is the perfect season for it. Let’s prepare the way together.
