Jesus Is Headed Your Way

One day, we heard the news that a possible tornado was heading our way. We live off of a highway, and it was traveling along that very road. My wife and kids huddled in the downstairs bathroom. Not many tornadoes surface in North Carolina, so our children were particularly worried because it was something they had never contemplated happening before. The tornado never did come into our neighborhood, but it did cause one our sons to express that he needed to go to Confession as soon as possible. He hadn’t done anything too over the top sinful, but coming face-to-face with a tornado had cause him to have some second thoughts about his preparedness for meeting God. Hopefully, a tornado doesn’t make a path through your city or town this Advent.

Sometimes, reminders of our mortality find their way into life. The passing of a loved one, a car accident, or a health scare can all cause us to reflect on where we are in our relationship with God. Without those moments, we can find ourselves living daily without a mindfulness of where God is in our life and if our actions are pleasing to Him … or if they drag us further away into the world.

Advent is the time to take inventory of where we are with God. How are we living as good stewards and mature disciples? What do I need to make amends for in the healing power of the sacrament of Penance? A tornado may not be coming, but Jesus will be returning someday. Hopefully, you will run outside of your home to meet him, and he won’t find you huddled up afraid in your bathroom.

— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS