You might think “oh, answered prayer… I know what that’s about… moving on…” but have you stopped to consider the backstory? The time *before* the resolution?

God finally FINALLY answers a prayer (hallelujah) and we rejoice and go about our lives a bit lighter, and rightly so. But what about that terrible crappy journey that we had to go through to get there? How does that register in our memories?

Advent is a time to acknowledge — boldly, perhaps with overemphasis — that we live in the crappy time. But it’s ok, and here’s why…