Advent: Standing in the Promises - Restoration for the Parched

I reached for the phone when a single patch of rough skin seemed to be spreading on my arm. With luck, I was able to get an appointment that week. After the initial hellos, my dermatologist delved into the areas of concern.

She paused only a moment and said with a slow smile, “Monique, I’d hazard a guess by looking at this rash that you don’t spend much time in a meaningful relationship with lotion.” Ha! I smiled back – “Is it that apparent?” The Skin Sleuth replied that given the fact, we live in the high desert, lotion is one of our best friends or should be. She explained, “If you don’t lather your skin with lotion the obvious results are what you are grappling with at the moment.”

“It comes on slowly,” she said, “but then our skin goes into survival mode and draws whatever moisture there is, in order to remain in a relatively healthy condition. Yours,” she said with confidence, “is in survival mode.”

Actually, I exist in multiple survival modes. If I take stock of my interior life and just pause here for a breath – I have more than one survival scenario in which I currently find myself. Mind, body, and soul are critical categories I can explore. In a list of urgent issues that require my attention, applying skin lotion honestly isn’t high on the list. Yet, what remains neglected can become a raging fire.

As I spend time with the readings for this week of Advent, a parallel is pretty clear to me. In the reading of Isaiah, he writes, “the desert and parched land will be glad…” There IS restoration in the wings if we stand on the promises of God made through this prophet. This restoration is not by our own hand, but by dependence on and faith in what God tells us, with conviction, is yet to come…and is honestly, in many ways, already here.

In a crazy contrast, Advent, one of my favorite liturgical seasons of the year, offers me time. Yet, time seems to fly during December with so much to do. Mysteriously, Advent somehow opens me to the movement of Emmanuel in unique ways that reflect a calendar year in retrospect. The soil of my soul has been well trampled and drained of nutrients in the months preceding. God as Divine Cultivator is busy with hoe and seed, the parched ground beneath the Gardener’s steps is definitely in survival mode; well beyond any remedy that I can prescribe for myself. During Advent, I tend to surrender more readily to the gentle hands working my heart. Maybe it’s exhaustion? I am – my spirit is - in need of replenishing. Thank God, the Gardener knows exactly what is needed.

I need, and the Divine Cultivator offers, Hope.

Do you find yourself struggling with a similar sense of depletion? Where are you in survival mode? Have you been honest with those who cross the threshold of your interior space or, as with so many of us, have you offered the small plot of land that is yours to anyone who is in need? And like me at times, catch yourself logically (or illogically?) thinking that this is what is called for as a woman of faith.

Tucked within the book of Malachi, the second reading for this week, another set of promises is given. “I WILL send my messenger, who WILL prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking WILL come to the temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, WILL come…”

Here lies the truth. As people of faith, we are asked to hope for something that has already come. Isn’t that what Advent is all about? We await Emmanuel in visible, tangible ways…he who has already come…and, yet, will come again. We are in good company. A chorus of believers and non-believers alike, have uttered every restless, unspoken prayer of desire that rests on our lips.

Come Emmanuel! Come send your messenger of love and help me be aware when the messenger arrives! Come visit my Temple, and help me be awake as you restore the soil of my soul! “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.” (IS. 35:1) This is about more than dry skin, dry bones, or a dry spirit. We know that our God offers more than survival…more than sucking through our teeth on parched reserves. Our God becomes the Storehouse of our plenty, the Aquifer of our oasis, the Source of our bounty. And when it’s hard to believe all of that…“Emmanuel,” I believe – help my unbelief!”

Going Deeper:

• This week begins with the O Antiphons! Spend some time with each image and see how that reflection might restore you this Advent. This link is from the USCCB.
• Listen to a classic rendition of the O Antiphons sung.
• This might be a good time to consider an Annual Examen or, what is also called, The Great Examen, where we look back over the whole year and discern ways that we may have missed the presence of God and recognize how we might be more responsive and aware of the action of the Divine in our lives. Here we listen to be led by Becky through this process.

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Monique Jacobs

Monique Jacobs has been engaged in professional active ministry in the church for 40+ years, offering workshops, retreats, and writing. She accompanies people in these roles, and as a Spiritual Director, using Ignatian methods and spirituality. Her joy is to serve as mentor and companion to others, highlighting their gifts and helping to build up the body of Christ. Monique also hosts a YouTube Channel: Finding God in All Things, new videos posted weekly. Monique serves as the Director of Mission and Identity for Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada. Subscribe to Monique’s YouTube Channel, Finding God In All Things.