The first trains could only move in one direction.

Turning them around soon became an issue. So roundhouses were built. These were yards for locomotives that feature a gigantic turntable in the middle that allows trains to change direction.

Like these trains, our lives move in one direction.

We barrel down the track thinking we are who we are, we do what we do, we’ll be who we’ll be, and we can’t change that.

But life also has roundhouses.

One is called Advent – which says our directions can change.

I’ve found this nearly always happens in small ways - we take a baby step to becoming a little kinder, a little more generous, a little more present.

Then we step back, repeat those small changes, and see bigger ones.

Advent, with its emphasis on repentance, preparation, and serenity, wants to be our roundhouse. It wants to be our inspiration and crucible for the kinds of change we sense God calling us towards.

How is Advent your roundhouse?