A fun Danish Christmas tradition my sister showed me is burning Advent calendar candles (pictured) called a kalenderlys. The idea is simple enough, each day you burn one day's worth of candle counting down until Christmas.
This last summer we found one of these candles in our travels, and for the month of December I have been burning the candle each day. This task is nice and cozy, but it has required more intention than I initially expected. Each day I am forced to find time for the day's burning. This requires me to plan my days in such a way I will have time for the kalenderlys. If a day were to be missed I know the little golden numbers on the candle would be there taunting me until the time had been redeemed.
It's amazing how restful it is to daily spend time watching a candle burn. Since I can't leave the flame unattended, I am required to sit and be still. So far the time burning the kalenderlys is either spent praying or sitting with my wife Emily (my two favorite people). The Advent calendars I had growing up (opening a door each day) helped me count the days until Christmas, but they did not require a daily pause from me. A picture or Bible verse can be merely glanced at; a candle takes time to burn. I am held accountable for spending time each day resting and reflecting upon the miracle of Emmanuel.
I don't know about you, but I at least can make the idea of spending time with Jesus into this great overwhelming task. Jesus did not come to add clutter to our lives, but we have a knack for missing this point. It is easy for me to confuse quantity and quality of time spent with God. The kalenderlys helps me also remember even a small portion of time spend well with the Lord is time well spent.
This advent season instead of buying into the craziness of our modern holiday let us make room to be still and remember what the Lord has done for us.
2 comments:
Amen!
Good thoughts. thanks to your dad for bringing this to my attention. Blessing to all of your family.
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