What a Chocolate Advent Calendar Teaches Us About Anticipation

When you were a kid, did you ever have one of those old-fashioned Advent calendars?

You know, the cardboard ones with little cut out doors numbered for each day of Advent, and on the inside was a piece of chocolate? Our kids are getting to the age of enjoying these types of Advent traditions, so we got our two oldest kids their own calendars this year.

A few days into Advent, my 3-year-old caught on to the fact that every one of those doors has a piece of chocolate inside. I walked into the living room one day only to find her opening every door and collecting all the chocolates into a little pile on the floor. She explained that she just wanted to see each piece. But when we tried putting the chocolate back in their respective doors, we had a difficult time getting each piece to fit exactly right, so a couple of them had to be discarded (aka, eaten by me). 

The lesson my daughter learned that day is one that I want to share with you, because I think it applies to all of us. 

When we rush ahead to the future, we spoil the gift that is the present moment. How easily we fall into longing for what’s to come—dreaming up dreams, waiting for that special someone to come along, or something grand to happen. “Then my life will begin,” we say to ourselves. 

Are you waiting to meet The One? Are you waiting for your dream job? Don’t get me wrong...it’s not sinful to wait for things, to hopefully anticipate. That is, after all, what the season of Advent is about: a hopeful anticipation of what’s to come. 

But here’s the thing: in our future-gazing, don’t we often miss what God wants for us in the ‘now’? God is a God of the present, and we are His people. Therefore, we must also strive to live ever in the present moment. Rushing ahead to the future is like my daughter pulling out all of her Advent chocolates at once. You can’t get the pieces to fit back exactly, and you might even miss the surprises God intends for you to discover each day. 

Humanity as a whole is really bad at sitting still. Just letting the present hang where it is, in the here-and-now, in all its seeming plainness. 

Even now in this season of Advent, when the Church asks us to stop and quietly anticipate the coming of Christ, we can’t even do that. My neighbor’s Christmas decorations went up right next to their jack-o-lanterns this year, like they’re purposely trying to celebrate the mixed up holiday in the Nightmare Before Christmas movie. Society pushes us forward, always forward, so much so that we are already tired of something before it’s truly even begun.  

So how can we get back to enjoying the present moment? How can we slow down and take in the scenery a bit more? 

If you’re single and deeply desiring to be married, stop wishing your present life away! Tell God the desires of your heart, do your part to put yourself out there and meet someone, but then just go live your life. I promise you, God has great blessings that He wants to bestow on you every day. The same goes for any other type of waiting—tell God your desires, do your part to make those happen, but then leave it in God’s hands and enjoy the life He’s blessed you with. 

Remember, the future is not yet upon us, the past we cannot change, so the only thing we truly have is the present moment. 

Advent is also about preparing. Preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ at Christmas, and for that ultimate coming when we meet him face-to-face. Your time of singlehood or other waiting is also a preparation; trust that God is using it to prepare you for what's next.

I’ll leave you with a few ways to spend the rest of this Advent in hopeful preparation, while rejecting the temptation to live in the future.

• Wake up each day thanking God for the gift of another life’s breath by doing a morning offering. 
• Go easy on the Christmas-ing until December 24th. Gradually put up decorations and listen to Christmas music, rather than binging on it all at once.
• Stay focused on what’s in front of you at any given moment. Put down your phone when you’re with a friend or loved one, and give the gift of your presence to them. 
• Relive your childhood by getting an Advent calendar, making a paper countdown chain, or even doing a Jesse Tree. Doing something significant each day of Advent reminds us of the unique purpose and mission God has for us every day of our lives.