2024 Advent Devotion: Day 2

Monday, December 2

Numbers 17:1-11; Psalm 90; 2 Peter 3:1-18

Having been born into a Christian family, I have read Psalm 90:14 many times, and I believe that, like the psalmist, I have prayed for unfailing love on many occasions. But on many of those occasions, like the people of Israel in the wilderness, I have not been able to see it when the Father has extended it.

I have mistakenly associated unfailing love with the Father sparing me from moments of pain. Recently, when I experienced a borderline health situation on a very dark evening, I cried inconsolably and asked him, “What do you want me to learn?” The answer came a few minutes later when a person decided to help me financially to cover certain expenses.

That same afternoon, deep in my heart, I felt a blindfold fall from my eyes. I could see that the unfailing love of the Father and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ did not spare me from the pain, sadness and dark nights of the soul in this world. Rather, it is His presence in those moments through various manifestations that is and will continue to be a miracle and the consolation of my soul.

I have learned that He is in the smile of a stranger on a difficult day, in the message of a friend I have not spoken to in a long time, in the praise that breaks my soul, in the open hands of others to help me. His unfailing love is in the small details that we sometimes overlook and that make the burden of daily life more bearable.

This year, as we approach Advent, I would like to invite myself and you to reflect on this: to find God in the little things, not to expect an easy road, but the assurance that he is still there, even when it doesn’t seem so, and also to remember that we should all be vehicles of his love. In this fast-paced life, let us not forget that at some point we all need a brother or sister in faith to remind us that the Father is present. May we imitate the Master who was always ready to help those in need and give unconditional love to all.

Olga Ramos
School of Divinity Student