Dear Friends:

Every year, on the Second Sunday of Advent, we hear from that most vocal of Advent characters, John the Baptist, who cries out from the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord….”

When I was a young mother, seated in my church pew beside my three fidgety sons, I never managed to listen much beyond those words of John the Baptist. As soon as I heard the word “prepare” my mind started racing….so many plans yet to nail down, lists to make, errands to run, events to attend. For me, preparing the way for the Lord meant “getting ready” for Christmas - creating a calendar, making plans, sticking to them, showing up.

Recently, I’ve thought about that period of my life a lot. Over this past week, at least half a dozen folks have asked me, so, what are your plans for Christmas? How about the church?

Of course, my answer to that question is much different now than it would have been 25 years ago when I was the young mother of three little boys. Much different, even, from how I would have answered last year. How do you make plans when every plan is subject to change? Think about the outdoor worship services that we have planned to hold at St. John’s this fall. At our last staff meeting, we all agreed that if we want it to rain, all we have to do is plan an outdoor service!

And yet…and yet. We human beings do need to make plans. Not because we are controlling, or can’t embrace spontaneity, or don’t “get” how to just “be.” We need to make plans because it is hard-wired into our psychological and emotional health. According to one Stanford professor, “Fitting together different plans in a coherent, consistent and stable way is not only useful, but essential to our sense of freedom and autonomy over our lives.” When we have a plan, even a potentially futile one that may not come to fruition, it helps clear our minds, organize our thoughts, and set us free.

For the first half of the year, the uncertainty of the pandemic’s spread has made it nearly impossible to predict whether anything will happen as we imagined it would. We’ve all become more aware that the control we thought we had is maybe more fragile than we believed. However, putting the future into a perpetual holding pattern takes its toll, leading to anxiety and depression. Too much uncertainty is upsetting, making us feel powerless and stressed out. That’s why it is important to keep making plans – even if they don’t pan out. As one social scientist advises, “Even if you don’t have the bandwidth to think three months in advance, start by making a plan for tomorrow. If that feels daunting, gosh, try planning for later today. If you can just make a plan for dinner, that should be celebrated.”

I have taken this to heart, and have decided not to feel so badly about my age-old need to make plans to prepare the way for Christmas - even as I am mindful that Advent is really a time to clear away the clutter of our lives! So, I will keep putting things on my calendar, within reason, and on our church calendar, and I hope you will too…not just because it is good for your mental health, but because it may be just be the appointment God is waiting for to meet you anew.

Prepare ye the way,

Amelie+