A few years ago, the church we attended was wrapping up the last lesson of women’s Bible study for the fall, just before Christmas break. Our leader, Leslie Strader, stood to give a few closing remarks and held up a big, empty mason jar. She then shared an illustration I’ve never forgotten.
Leslie started by saying the jar was meant to represent our time in this season, then held up some larger stones and some sand. First, she took the sand, poured it into the jar, and attempted to fit in the larger stones. But, because the sand took up so much room in the jar, the stones just would not fit. Next, Leslie reversed the order: she put the large stones in first, and poured the sand in on top. Much to our surprise, when the stones went before the sand, everything fit!
Through stones, sand and an empty jar, Leslie communicated to us the importance of prioritizing as we headed into the busy weeks leading up to Christmas. As moms, we desire to make the holiday season as special and fun as possible for our families. But in the process, we often forget what is most important.
As you enter the Advent season, spend time considering these questions: What are the stones? What is sand? What are the most important traditions and rhythms to incorporate this holiday season, and what is extra? How can you prioritize and make room for the most important things?
I’m still a work in progress here, but I’ve realized that my “stones” are those things that build anticipation for Jesus, both in myself and in my family. Advent is a season of expectancy, of watching and waiting, like seeing the first bit of a sunrise and then watching it slowly grow brighter and brighter until – at last! – you see the full brightness of the sun on Christmas Day. My main priority is to build that sense of anticipation for my family.
One way I can do that is by spending time with Him myself, remembering and rejoicing over his birth and cultivating my desire for his return.
With our family, it’s lighting the Advent candle on Sundays. It’s taking time to research and choose a daily, family devotional that focuses on Christ and builds anticipation for his arrival. It’s pushing back on our culture’s consumerist mindset, re-framing gift-giving as a way of remembering the greatest gift ever given: Christ Himself.
Another important “stone” for us is to be together as a family. I love planning to do fun things like ice skating, getting Christmas jammies, or watching Elf. Although secondary to stoking anticipation for Jesus, these are important things for us because they help us enjoy each other. But I have intentionally avoided certain traditions – like crafting or Elf on the Shelf – not because there is something wrong with them, but because I’ve found that those things, for our family, become like too much sand crowding out the stones.
My new album, A Seed, A Sunrise: Advent to Christmas Songs, explores the anticipation of Advent, the joy of Christmas, and the eager expectation of Jesus’s return. My prayer is that it would come alongside you and your family as you prioritize waiting and watching for Jesus.
As you enter into this busy season, take some time to decide which activities and traditions are stones, and which are just sand. Make a plan to put the stones first, and let the sand trickle in after.
by Caroline Cobb
Singer-songwriter Caroline Cobb loves to use music to help God’s people rehearse and remember God’s Story. Her forthcoming album A Seed, A Sunrise explores the longing of Advent, the joy of Christmas, and the anticipation of Jesus’s return, and builds on previous Story-telling albums the Blood + the Breath (2013) and a Home & a Hunger (2017), the latter being named among “The Best Albums of the 2010s” by The Gospel Coalition.
