The Rev. Canon Anne E. Kitch
Canon for Ministry Formation and Transitions
You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
2 Peter 1:19
I reach for my phone to take the picture but am thwarted by a message on the screen. Techno speak for “No room left.” There have been warning signs for days. Messages have popped up on the display indicating that the data is almost full and advising me to deal with the storage issue. Except I have been hesitant. I do not fully understand how it all works and I worry about losing my way. I know better than to apply updates without the time and brain space to deal with the change, but now I have arrived at the end of the grace period.
I need to make some space. I choose to attend to this now, and take the time to delete old data from my phone. Forgotten messages, mis-taken photos, things I have been carrying that I didn’t even realize. And as I focus on this task, I wonder when was the last time I made space in my spiritual life.
Advent is here. I cannot possibly attend to this journey with my heart and head already full. Now is the moment I need to set aside old assumptions, mistaken ideas, and worthless burdens I have been carrying. If I do not make space for the light in my life, I may find myself lost and with no room to welcome the dawn and greet with joy the Morning Star.