Author name: Molly Hostetler

My precious Lord, Jesus,

I adore You with profound love and rejoice in the celebration of Your birth.

Your love for us is unfathomable,

God created you and me for a purpose. Our destiny is not based on our talents, skills, abilities, gifts, education, wealth or health, though these may be useful. God’s plan for our lives is based on God’s grace and our response to him. All that we have is a gift from God. What we are is a gift back to him.  

In Advent, thoughts naturally turn to the birth of little baby Jesus and his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. And yet, the lectionary readings for the first and second weeks of Advent feature quite a few stories about John the Baptist, either with John himself as the protagonist or with Jesus discussing John and his significance.

There is a running joke in my family about asking God for help in parking the car. My nana initiated the practice of imploring God when encountering difficulty in finding an open parking space: “Jesus, please help me find a parking spot.” Well, my dad repeats this prayer, adding his own twist at the end. As he drives around a busy lot looking for a space, he, following the wit and wisdom of his mother, prays, “Dear Jesus, please help me find a parking spot.” When a space almost miraculously appears in the near vicinity, he looks up, signaling his conversation with God, and jokes, “Never mind, Jesus. I found one.”

A lot of people wonder what the secret sauce for a happy life is, and why God doesn’t just tell us. Turns out he did, but what he said is simple, and we’re busy looking for a mystic light to shine from behind a cloud—illuminating a hidden path. We’re looking for a guru to teach us secret spiritual methods that the “average” person couldn’t possibly understand.  

Let’s start by saying an uncomfortable truth: You used to be more fun than you are. Very few people keep the childlike gleam in their eyes. They let life make them very, very serious. They let their adult responsibilities rob them of their childlikeness.  

Everything that is true of so-called secular societies is true of so-called secular individuals. To refuse to submit oneself to the living God—to refuse to acknowledge, adore, and serve Him as justice demands—is not a neutral choice. It does not preserve one’s objectivity or intellectual freedom; it does not liberate the soul.