Affirmation
How might you bring the love of Advent to your community by taking some moments to affirm the divine in the people around you?
Zephaniah 3:17
“The Lord, your God, is in your midst; …
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
as on a day of festival.”
The other day, I was taking some alone & reflection space in a coffee shop when I watched a pair of pre-teens come out of a salon with their hair freshly coiffed. I watched them walk to the car with their fresh fades and the swagger of people who knew they were “The Sh*t.” I wondered in joy of the sweet assurance that a new haircut can bring and about those moments in our adult lives; it feels so few and far between that we feel seen and celebrated in all that we are.
While I think it actually sounds rather annoying to have someone exult over me with loud singing, I’d certainly take the figurative version of that. I love the vision of God rejoicing at us in our fullness.
Since watching those young people a few weeks ago, I have been focusing on moments to bring that kind of affirmation and deep love to the people in my life. I have had moments of great joy and connection while watching the people I care about blossom before me when I attempt to more deeply see and rejoice over them. This is heaven. This is the coming of God to earth.
How might you bring the love of Advent to your community by taking some moments to affirm the divine in the people around you?