I recently signed up for new car insurance, and to get a better rate, I had to sync the car to my phone, which will report on my driving. I am skeptical about the whole thing, but also cheap, so I said yes. And the first week’s results are in—overall excellent!! Of course.
They rate five areas and I had excellent or great on 4 of them. Smooth acceleration, reasonable speed (that one is questionable but don’t tell), the right times of day, and minimal distractions, aced them! My only area of improvement is hard braking. To be honest, I don’t recall any hard braking, though I was rushing home one day to meet a repair person and might have taken some hard turns. But anyway, I will comply and pay attention in this area.
And isn’t it just like Jesus that I can turn this into an Advent practice. Advent is a time to slow down, to be reflective, to breathe. It is not a time of hard braking, careening around corners, or whatever else I was doing. Advent is a time to be intentional and to prepare for the glorious coming of Jesus. I don’t remember Jesus doing any hard braking in the Gospels.
It is often the case that the feedback you receive on your life, from the most unexpected places, reflects a real need. I would be foolish not to take heed of my hard braking and the metaphor that might be for other things in my life. Pay attention during this Advent season. Light your wreath, appreciate beauty, engage in hope, revel in peace.
Jesus is coming, and we want him to be happy with what He finds.