make room

Saturday night, as I reflected before bed, I knew that I had to make this Advent fruitful.  Lord, how can I make it different this year?  Last week, I heard Your message..."Enjoy the journey."  Every day I had to tell myself to be present in the moment and take in every minute that the Lord has blessed me with.  See Him in everything and feel His presence and hand in it all.

This second week of Advent, He reminded me to "Be Empty."  How can I prepare my heart in welcoming Baby Jesus if it's filled with worry and other crazy thoughts?  I need to make room for Him!!!  I can't have Mary and Joseph walking around from heart to heart this season where I, myself, will reply with "There's no room at the inn."  Noooo I need to make room.  But then I prayed about the "how" of it all.  HOW do I make room for Jesus?  I was affirmed at mass today when the gospel was about St. John the Baptist reminding us to prepare the way of the Lord.  Make the rough places plain and the crooked road straight.  I am practicing the art of "letting go."  I have to remind myself about what's important and to focus on just making sure I allow God to be the first and foremost in my life.  I have to acknowledge how much He blesses and loves me.

Today I made room in my heart so I could find JOY in Jesus.  I really tried my best to not let the worries of life get to me and to enjoy the moments around me in the present.  I wanted to make sure I was aware of the things He was giving me and filling my heart with (since I was trying to make more room for Him).  Not only did He bless me with something I wanted, but He reminded me that He's a god of MORE and showered me with just that.

I know this is silly, but today I wanted to meet Baymax (from the movie Big Hero Six) when I went to Disneyland.  He was basically the only character on my bucketlist for the day that I really wanted to meet.  After running through the park and getting in line only minutes before they closed it off, I recognized that I got my chance!!  I just kept praying that Baymax wouldn't "run out of battery" ;)

My experience meeting him was soooo amazing, my friend had to ask me, "You know he's not real right?"  And I just smiled at him and replied...."No, he's real!"

Sometimes it's okay to have this crazy innocence of a kid where you believe all the magic and wonder that you want.  I let my imagination run wild.  I wanted to tell him "Hey, I met you and wanted to hug you but you couldn't hug me back...so may I please have my hug now???"  But I didn't considering I hugged a standee in the lobby at work.  Crazy me, I know!  But I was squealing, jumping, and super giddy as we kept moving closer to him in the line.  Finally I had my chance to fist bump and HUG him (and he hugged me back!)  It was amAzing.

You have no idea how excited I was.  No idea.

But guess what...?  The cherry on top was that I didn't just meet Baymax and Hiro....I got to meet two other characters that I absolutely LOVE: Mickey Mouse AND Santa Claus!!!!

Yes, the child in me erupted and I was overflowing with happiness today.  I gave Jesus room in my heart and He filled it with so much joy.  No room for worry or sadness...He was moving that old furniture out and replacing it with his shiny, brand new ones!

Enjoy the journey and continue to empty yourself to make room for Jesus.  He's ready to fill you with things that will make your heart happy.  Even if it's on a smaller scale such as a delicious dessert or rockstar parking, you won't recognize any of it if your heart is filled with junk.  Dump it, clean it, and be open to receiving the many moments of happiness He wants to give to you (and that you truly deserve!)

Thank you, Jesus.  I'm sleeping with sweet dreams tonight!