Be Our Guest

One of my favorite scenes in Beauty and the Beast occurs when the dishes and furniture are preparing the house for the dinner Belle and the Beast are going to share. I love the song, "Be Our Guest," and I've been singing it all week as I've been decorating the house for our Christmas Open House (come and go, Dec 7, 10 am-noon and 6 pm to 8 pm, by-the-way - please come!) and working on the Advent Guide we'll distribute at church.

Preparing for the arrival of Christmas is one of best things in life, to me. Not only because of the fun decorations, although that's definitely a part of it, but I also love preparing for giving the gifts, imagining the reaction that will occur on the faces of those I love as they open their presents. (Plus, I don't seem to mind getting the stuff I've been hoping for!) More than that, however, as I've been working on the Advent Guide, the time I've spent mulling over scripture to be included in it has further heightened my awareness of preparing my own heart for the season.

Since at least Junior High, I can remember significant ways the Lord has spoken to me in the Christmas Season. Sometimes it's been through a song I've sung or heard. Sometimes through a role I've played in a musical or play. Sometimes through a piece of art depicting the story of Christ's birth. Sometimes it's been a passage of Scripture that communicates a truth to me that I'd never seen before. So, for me, I anxiously await Christmas each year, because I expect to hear from God. And isn't that what Advent is all about?

Luke 2 talks about Simeon and Anna, two people who finally saw what they'd been waiting for all their lives. I think one reason the story of these two was included, was because the Lord wanted to show us that they were not only waiting idly by, thinking something might happen, but they were waiting actively, serving God and acting daily according to the Holy Spirit's instruction, expecting God to show them what they'd longed to see. I can't wait to hear what God has on his heart for me this year. I hope you feel the same way.

Well, I'd better get back to decorating. Unlike Belle, I actually have to do the work, my dishes don't dance their way into place.