Today is the first day of Advent. Advent is the anticipation and waiting for the coming of Christmas and the coming of Jesus.

The word “Advent” originates from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” “approach,” or “arrival.”

It is derived from the Latin verb advenire, meaning “to come to.”

In Church Latin, adventus specifically referred to the “coming of the Savior,” both his first coming (nativity) and his anticipated second coming.

I watched a series about a woman’s journey with cancer. I finished the series last night, and I believe the producers intentionally had her passing as an abrupt ending. Without warning or fanfare, the husband came home after buying her flowers, only to find that she was gone. The hospice nurse said it matter-of-factly and noted, “She died about 30 minutes ago, peacefully.” If you had gone to get a snack and didn’t pause the show, you would have come back to the credits rolling. I was somewhat frustrated with the ending until I gave it more thought.

Today, listening to my Advent message on the Pray as You Go app, the authors shared the verse from Matthew 24: 37-44 and the hymn, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.”

The passage discussed how busy we are with all the things, and then, all of a sudden, we will see Him. The Day will all come to pass.

When my father passed away, he came home to hospice care and only spent about 4 hours in this care before he passed the next morning, around 2:00 a.m. A voice awoke me in the middle of the night to come to him. It was a sweet, gentle voice of kindness. The laundry room was on the way, and out of habit, I stopped first to switch the laundry. We still use this – “switch the laundry.” He was lying in my mom’s arms, and I woke her up gently to say, “Mom, he is gone.”

Just like that. Gone to be with the Lord.

Years upon years, and in a single moment, gone.

To be absent from our bodies is to be with the Lord.

In the series, the flowers have great significance and are tied to her father’s relationship and her wedding day. Had the husband not stopped for the flowers, he would have been there when she passed away. Yet, they showed her in the spiritual realm, visualizing the exchange of flowers, the meaning, and her smile and voice of gratitude. Just as the small voice that woke me up spiritually, the Spirit is at work in life and death, or in the transition between life and death.

Oh, the small and glorious ways God talks to us. In my devotional this morning, they coined a phrase that my mom uses, and I smiled. I closed my eyes and prayed for God to help me love others and myself with the love He so perfectly bestows on us. Clear the clutter in your mind, slow down, and stop planning for just a moment, so He can open up to you spiritually and speak to you. Expect blessings. See them and rejoice.