What I Learned About Holiness This Advent

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” — John 1:5

Every Advent, I learn something new about waiting.

Not the kind of waiting that feels empty, but the kind that wakes you up inside —

that asks you to notice, to listen, and to make space for something sacred.

This year, through our Holy Advent journey — Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love —

I found myself learning that holiness isn’t distant or demanding.

It’s God’s way of coming close.

It’s the heartbeat of heaven moving toward the broken things in us and making them whole.

Hope — God Steps Into the Dark

The first week reminded me that holiness begins with awareness.

Before light shines, God notices the dark.

He doesn’t wait for us to fix what’s broken — He steps into it.

There’s such freedom in realizing that hope is not about optimism or denial;

it’s about remembering that we’re seen.

When I lit the first candle, I whispered,

“You see me here.”

And that was enough.

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Peace — God Makes Us Whole

In week two, we baked bread and talked about peace as togetherness.

Not silence or perfection, but the miracle of belonging again.

When Scripture speaks of shalom, it means everything in its right place —

not neat or tidy, but whole and connected.

This week taught me that holiness always moves toward reconciliation.

God’s peace doesn’t flatten differences; it weaves them together with grace.

It looks like a table where everyone still has a seat.

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Joy — God Turns Sorrow to Song

By week three, something shifted.

We’d been sitting with heavy things — the world’s ache, our own weariness —

and yet, joy still arrived.

Not because everything was fixed,

but because redemption began to sing louder than regret.

Holiness doesn’t erase sorrow; it transforms it.

It teaches us to dance with tears still on our cheeks.

It reminds us that resurrection always follows lament.

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Love — God Comes Close

And finally, love —

the kind that makes you pause because it’s too beautiful to rush past.

This is where holiness surprised me most.

I expected awe and reverence;

what I found was tenderness.

Love didn’t come as power; it came as presence.

It wasn’t thunder on a mountain, but a heartbeat in a manger.

Holiness with skin on.

Holiness that sees, serves, forgives, and stays.

Holiness that says,

“I’m not going anywhere.”

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Holiness Has a Heartbeat

If I had to summarize this Advent in one phrase, it would be this:

Holiness has a heartbeat.

It isn’t a rule to follow; it’s a relationship to receive.

It’s God’s character in motion —

the power that makes wrong things right,

and then teaches us to do the same.

Lighting each candle felt like lighting something in me again —

hope where I’d gone numb,

peace where I’d felt divided,

joy where I’d grown weary,

and love where I’d been afraid to be known.

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Carrying the Light Forward

Advent ends, but the invitation doesn’t.

If holiness means walking with God as He makes things right,

then every day is another chance to keep following the light.

That’s why our Rooted Minds Community will begin the new year by reading through most of the Bible together —

not for a checklist, but for relationship.

The same God who came close in Bethlehem still speaks today through His Word.

If you’d like to join us, you can find the plan here:

👉 Read the Bible in a Year Plan

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A Final Prayer

Holy One,

Thank You for stepping into our darkness and bringing Your light.

Teach us to carry Your holiness with us —

to notice what’s broken,

to make peace where there’s division,

to rejoice in redemption,

and to love as You have loved us.

Let the light we’ve kindled this Advent never go out,

but shine through every day ahead.

Amen.

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Merry Christmas, friends.

May you walk into the new year with your heart alight —

rooted in hope, anchored in peace, overflowing with joy,

and radiant with love.