“Daily devotions by my advent wreath”
“Advent Card ‘Calendar’ Tradition”
“Cookie Baking with friends”
“Sing in the Vespers Choir”
“Use more paper plates” …
Wait, what?!?
How did paper plates make their way onto my mental “Ways to celebrate Advent this year” list?!?
To be honest, I’m not exactly sure.
Maybe it’s an excuse to be lazy.
Maybe it’s just flat out weird.
However somehow, as I explored the Advent Conspiracy phrases of Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and Love All, I found myself wondering if perhaps those few minutes it takes to wash the dishes each day could be better spent somewhere else.
A ten minute drive around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights
An extra moment to write a Christmas card to a soldier or missionary
The chance to hit the snooze button or simply sit quietly on the couch during an often busy, stressful season
A theme God is teaching me a lot about in my life right now is the idea of holding both myself and others to a standard of pure grace rather than perfection and some days that means paper plates.
Sure there will still be pots and pans to wash. And of course, sometimes I may choose to get out the even fancier dishes than my normal dishware, but as I think about ways to care for myself and others this Advent season, I’m glad “paper plates” made the list.
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