PROBLEM OR INCONVENIENCE?
BY THE TIME YOU GET THIS MESSAGE, my laptop will have been in Apple's repair center for a second day - although given my track record with Apple's service department over the years, chances are good it might actually already be back to the office, as the turn-around time on prior repairs has been quite rapid. In fact, when I called them at 3:49 Friday afternoon to schedule a repair, they sent the box for my return via overnight shipping and it was delivered to our offices Saturday morning!
Now, let me be clear - the repairs I need are in no way related to the quality of my laptop. Erin and I have been dedicated MacBook users since 2006, and upgrade primarily when the computers become of such an age they cannot run the latest operating system. No, I sent the laptop in for repair because I accidentally dropped it not once, but twice. Under the terms of the AppleCare+ warranty, I have a small deductible to pay for my system to be made good as new.
Then I came to a realization - this laptop repair business is much like Advent. Seriously.
How's that?
Well, Advent is a season of preparation that requires a little work on our part. We know what needs to be done, and we know that it could be looked at, depending on our perspective, as a bit of an inconvenience because it disrupts our regular routine.
And, yet, this season of preparation calls us to examine our life's daily routines as we intentionally look forward to the coming of the Christ child.
In order to prepare to be without my laptop for a few days, I have had to look ahead and figure out not only what I needed to do to prepare the machine to be sent off, I had to look and see what all needed to be done in advance, as well as figure out how I would be able to get essential things done without my regular workhorse.
There is, though, one other consideration - What is it that I could do with the time I would normally spend getting things done in this manner?
Friends, I know that a laptop repair is not that big of a deal in the overall scheme of things. However, I wonder how rich could our Christmas, and indeed our lives, be if we but took some time to properly prepare through a faithful observance of Advent?
What is it that God might be prepared to have you discover if you but took the time to engage in the season of Advent, focusing or refocusing on a life of hope, peace, joy, and love that comes only from God through the Christ child?
Grace and Peace,
Lamar