Advent Reading: Week 4, Love

From "This Is How We Wait," an Advent devotional by Kristy Howard

She lights the fourth candle with a heart that’s tender and tired.

Because love—real, holy, healing love—can feel like both a comfort

and a cost.

This week reminds her of what love really is.

Not polished. Not performance.

But presence.

Sacrifice.

God-with-us.

Love is the backbone of every moment she pours herself into.

But sometimes, she forgets she’s allowed to receive it too.

Advent love says:

You don’t have to earn Me.

You don’t have to fix yourself to be worthy of gentleness.

You are already held.

This is how we wait:

By letting love reach the parts of us still wrapped in shame, fear,

or fatigue.

By letting ourselves be nurtured, not just needed.

By receiving what we so often give away.

Love came down at Christmas.

But it comes to you now, too—right in the middle of your doubt,

your mess, your longing.

You are not just God’s servant.

You are His Beloved.

“We love because He first loved us.”

—1 John 4:19

Reflection:

✨Where do you still feel like you need to “get it together” to be loved?

What might shift if you let His love find you right there?

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Scripture Reading:

Luke 2:1–20—The birth of Jesus and the love that entered our world

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Dear Friend,

Thank you for following along during this Advent series.

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Veritas et gratia,
Kristy 💐