Messy Rooms.

When I was a Headmaster, children and their parents often thought more of me than they should have. Somehow my role influenced their perspective, and it was always a struggle to break through all that social clutter and develop real relationships.

I remember once going to read a bedtime story to two little girls, whose parents had purchased the dubious experience at an auction. The girls peered from behind the curtains as I arrived, and I could hear them scampering and giggling on the other side of the front door. The mother told of the girls’ frantic excitement and confessed a day-long effort to have their room in order. It wasn’t until I got the two in bed, shut the door, and sat on the floor that we all began to calm down. I reached under the bed and found a grungy old sock. The look on the girls’ faces was sheer terror mixed with total embarrassment, until I assured them I had socks that were more grungy and far worse things under my bed. It was at that moment that our time together began.

I used to think of Advent in a similar way to the girls. For me, Advent was a mini-Lent, a time to reflect and get one’s act together before Christmas. As a child, I thought of it as the season to prepare for a special guest. Like the girls, I spent the days before Christmas straightening my spiritual room, growing more and more tense as the holiday drew near, and then being disappointed and embarassed when all was not perfect.

This year, I want to try to enter Advent in a different way. Instead of trying to clean up my act, I want to admit there’s an act I’d like to stop performing. Instead of cleaning up my room, I’d like to admit that my room is a mess. Yes, I like a clean room, but there are always places where clutter builds up, corners where dirt finds sanctuary, and beds under which grungy socks gravitate.

Admitting that such places exist is an authentic step of preparation as we seek to let God enter our lives. If you are like me, these are not places you are proud of, nor are they places you want God to see, but they are as much a part of who we truly are as the straightened, tidy, and polished.  

This Advent, let’s not worry about making things neat and tidy. Let’s focus on opening the door.