As we brought our Christmas Tree into our house this year, I worried there wouldn’t be space for it. Our house is currently serving as a preschool, a business office, a home to four kids, two adults and two dogs, and a sanctuary during the Advent season for virtual worship services. Where would it go? Where would other things go to make room?
I have to admit that my thinking often goes first to what space isn’t available rather than seeing what space is available. There’s not time or space for a Christmas tree. There’s not space to think and wonder and reflect. There’s not space to move around or explore.
I don’t think I am the only one feeling closed in and cramped this year. To be sure, there are so many who have lived and are living in close quarters trying to keep others safe by limiting their movement. There are so many juggling identities or parent, worker, teacher, and caregiver to older family members.
In the midst of all the changes, I wonder if this reshuffling is actually a refining. When we have limited space, we make room for what is most important to us. And when we have to make tough choices, we find where our passions and priorities lie. And when we refine our passions and priorities, we make space for what’s truly important.