Mothers Group Reflection #38: Are You Just Going Through the Motions?

In the third week of Advent, we continue our theme of preparation to celebrate the birth of Christ by focusing on abundant joy. This joy comes from the fruit of letting Jesus be on the throne of our hearts and by repenting of anything that has divided our affections and caused conflict or separation in our relationship with Him. This week the liturgical color will change to rose and we will light the third candle on our Advent wreath. Part of our joy is in the fact that we have reached the halfway point in our preparations for Christmas.

This seems a good time to focus on the practice of prayer, as we come closer to our Lord in our Advent preparations. We have taken the time to notice what may be distracting us from our relationship with Him, and we have hopefully repented of those things, but we don’t do those things just so that we can follow a bunch of rules. We do those things because we long to know Him more deeply.

So, what does your prayer life look like at present? Has it become a mere routine, something you have to drag yourself out of bed for each morning or something that feels like an obligation? Something you struggle to work into your day? It can be so hard to find the time for everything during the busy holiday preparations, but Mary invites us to slow down a little, to ponder Jesus’ life and love for us. I notice that theme a lot in what little we know about her from Scripture.

Jesus so deeply longs just to be near us, to listen to the meditations of our hearts, as He hopes we will lean in to listen to His. He longs for us to get out of bed in the morning with eager anticipation, full of joy at the opportunity to spend the first few moments of our day with the One who made us and knows us best. Anytime we begin a new relationship, it is so easy to be excited to see our beloved, whether a spouse, a new child, or a dear friend. There is always that initial honeymoon period where everything is so sweet and easy. And it takes a lot of work to continue to cultivate the joy in our relationships, but it is SO worth the effort in the long run. Our relationship with Him is likely to go through many ups and downs over the years, times where it is hard to feel His presence. Yet, those times are the times we show our true love for Him, when we carve out that time anyway, and go to our time of prayer expectantly and with a faithful heart. And it always seems that just when we aren’t looking for it, we catch a glimpse of Him and feel that gentle peace descend upon us.

Verse for the Week:

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30 NRSVCE