Before a baby comes, there's always a punch list.

Amidst the hectic schedules we regularly keep, we somehow make room for some important tasks: we paint rooms, buy clothes, and celebrate with gift-giving friends. There’s reading to do, from what-to-expect books to crib assembly instructions. We pray more - for a safe delivery and a healthy newborn.

We know that babies bring joy, help us meet our potential, and give us a sense of meaning and purpose. We know their arrival means life as we knew it will be changed forever.

In Advent we await the coming of a baby who promises to bring just such gifts. And yes, there’s a punch list.

During the weeks before his arrival (unlike other babies, Jesus always comes on his due date), we grapple with what we need to do to make room. We know we can read, pray, and contemplate what this newborn will mean to us. We know we can ask anew just how Jesus brings us joy, a sense of meaning and purpose, and helps us meet our potential.

We also know the craziness of the season and our hectic schedules with which Advent always competes. And as John the Baptist will ask us this week (and next), how are we preparing for the baby? How are we making room? What mountains need to come down, what valleys need to be filled in?

In the weeks before our Savior’s birth let us pause to ask: What’s on our punch list?