When I was a kid, I loved when my parents put out our Slip 'N Slide in the front yard each summer. All the neighborhood kids would come over to cool off, laugh, and have fun. Recently my wife and I were lamenting the loss of carefree summers. We're not kids anymore; we have adult responsibilities. But there's still something in my brain, almost like a circadian rhythm, that's triggered by sunshine and summer heat that signals maybe it's okay to coast.

I know the season of Advent was quite a while ago, but I am living in my own personal advent, at least for the next month and a half. This personal advent has provided me with a new perspective on waiting. Waiting isn't idly sitting — quite the opposite — waiting involves actively preparing. My wife might tell you I'm experiencing partial preparation paralysis. Anticipation can cause anxiousness, but you cannot let it cause paralysis.

Your storage is full. So is your schedule. One commitment follows another until there's no white space left — and usually, God is the first thing crowded out. Jesus faced the same pressure in Mark 1, and His response is worth sitting with: He woke before the noise, slipped away, and prayed. Not because He had extra time. Because He made the space.