“A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” Isaiah 40:3-4

What’s alive in you?

What’s alive in us collectively that we may not even realize is alive?

The holidays, even more so this year, are a time when it can be difficult to feel what is alive in us. We remember the past, we lament what is broken. Broken relationships, threats of war, marginalization of others, unmet expectations, and promises that never came to be become magnified during this time of year. Specifically this year, the eclipse of the light by the darkness seems more prevalent.

The ancient people of Jerusalem know these feelings. They had been conquered by the Babylonians, removed from their homeland. The blame game was strong. Some blamed God, others blamed another, and a few blamed themselves. Their is doubt, fear, and anxiety that they will never seen their homeland again. This is wilderness, where life is hard to sense.

Isaiah has great nerve. The spirit of the Lord speaks through the prophet and  has the nerve to speak words of peace, words of life. Take comfort, because the way of the Lord is being cleared for you at this very moment. In scripture, the wilderness is often where peace begins. It’s the place where transformation- personal and communal- begins. The way to God almost often takes one to the desert. Peace begins in the wilderness.

What if we lived each day during this Advent season not lamenting what is broken, but sensing what is alive in us? What if we lived knowing that a way, a way in which God’s light will be revealed anew. is coming?

What’s alive in you?