Eat those Details

I wanted to start this blog by saying I do not like details, but that is not entirely true. Some details I love. I love finding some things that just fit perfectly.  A few months ago I dog sat for my friend Joe. I love how my friend and his wife have all the details arranged in the house. The perfect measuring cup was labeled and included in the container of dog food; every kitchen utensil had a neat storage place; towels were set out for me-–every detail was put in place. They left directions for the electronics. It was the easiest dog sitting I have ever done. I was jealous, and also thinking and loving it that everything had its proper place and spot. I appreciate it when similar details are in place at my house. I can hardly go to bed without leaving a straightened living room and kitchen.

By the same token, there are details I do not like dealing with. There are things that I’m planning when I get so involved with the creative part that I miss certain details. Sometimes as a youth pastor I got used to winging those details and running to get the tape or whatever at the last second. Luckily, during my ministry, God has surrounded me with detail people, and through the years I have learned from them. I learned to eat the details I didn’t like the most, first. I would knock out items that needed to be done that I didn’t want to do, or draw out specifics of details I might forget. It is weird that I could remember sermon after sermon, but I would forget the ping-pong balls that we needed for youth night.

This week we will center our discussion on two very different but important things in Advent: the preparation of Christmas eating and details. You may ask, “Is there anything else?” Christmas is full of making the right meals and getting every detail straight.

Yet, we see the distractions that these two things present in our preparation for Christmas, called Advent. They take away from the very emphasis on the details God created to send Jesus, His Son, into the world. We become so focused on the right meal, or on making sure everything is in place, that we lose sight of the very details God assembled to prepare us for the greatest miracle ever. This week, we will concentrate on the culminating events that prepared the people for Jesus’ coming. Some of these episodes are shocking: John the Baptist leaping in the womb, and angels that prepared people for things before they happened. Remembering these events in the story of God’s rescue of His people, will help us care less about whether the Christmas lights are in the right place, thinking about what food we are making for Christmas day, and what presents are left to purchase or make. It will redirect our focus, and remind us that the details we want to focus on first are the ones that remind us what a blessing this season is; that without Jesus, the details of Christmas preparation wouldn’t be necessary, or even mean anything.