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Prepare Him an Habitation
“The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” Exodus 15:2
Although I’m an anchoress, I do occasionally have company. I love having company. It’s getting ready for company that I have a hard time with. Even here, within my little anchorage, there just seems to be so much for me to do to get ready. I’ve got a large and very furry pet. So, I am constantly herding dust bunnies. Then, there the piles in my office space (I’m a visual organizer 😊). Sweeping, scrubbing, getting rid of things, are all things that need to be done to make room for a guest in this little space. I also like to make sure my guests have a place to put their clothes. So, the drawers that I’ve tucked junk into as well as the closet need to return to their spacious and guest-welcoming condition.
The Benedictine style of living calls me to nurture a spirit of hospitality and I am aware of this in a special way during Advent. Advent provides us with an opportunity to prepare for the most important guest of all…Christ. I imagine how, when Mary and Joseph arrived at the stable in Bethlehem, they needed to make preparations. I’m sure the manger got a good cleaning and was refilled with soft hay for bedding. I don’t know if you’ve ever had to clean out a barn. I once cleaned out a dairy barn for goats. If you have a guest that is going to stay in a barn, there can be a lot of business that needs cleaned up…if you catch my meaning.
During Advent, we are not required to clean out the guest rooms of our homes or the dairy barns. We called to prepare the room in our hearts for Christ. That could be more challenging than cleaning a dairy barn. As the verse in Exodus says, “…and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation”.
Ask yourself today…”Is there anything I am holding on to that crowds out the Lord? What cobwebs of old resentment or hurts need to be swept away? Any priorities that have been given a higher priority than the King of Kings? How can I prepare Him room in my life?”
+The Anglican Anchoress