On November 8, we welcomed our third child into the world—a sweet baby girl. And just three weeks later, we decided to list our house. So, here we are: painting and cleaning and decluttering and paperwork hanging over our heads with three young kids along for the ride. Now, don’t get us wrong, this is not a pity party—we did sign all of those papers intentionally. We truly did bring this upon ourselves. And most days, it feels like a lot, but it feels manageable.

Waking up this morning was a different story; today did not feel so manageable. On the to-do list for the day: getting our house ready for an open house tomorrow. Our older two boys were tired and definitely fighting a bit of cabin fever from the moment they woke up and, all at once, I felt the weight of it come crashing down on my sleep-deprived shoulders. In that moment, today was too much.

And in my heart and mind all I could do was speak His name, “Jesus”.

“Jesus, I need You. I need You. I need Your patience, Your strength, Your rest. I need You. Jesus.”

Praise God for Advent,

for the coming, for the arrival of Jesus,

Immanuel, God with us.

I prayed that prayer in confidence, knowing that Jesus would come, has come, was already there with me. The coming of Jesus does not disappoint.

He is hope. He is love. He is joy. He is peace.

When He comes, He cannot help but bring all of this with Him, for it is His very nature. What a good, overwhelmingly beautiful gift: the very presence of Jesus, offered to anyone who will call His name.

We welcome you, Lord Jesus. We welcome your presence in the quiet moments alone and in the moments when we are gathered together. We welcome your presence in our sorrow and in our celebration. We welcome you, Jesus. We welcome you in the beauty of your arrival. Come and have your way in us.

—Melanie Salte & Family

Advent Series

Week #4

The Welcoming