RECLAIMING TIME
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be? - Lk 1:57-66
When the neighbors asked at John’s birth, “What, then, will this child be?” - they were not only marveling at John, they were voicing a universal question we all carry deep within: Who am I becoming? It’s a question of reverence, persistence, and pressing, no matter how many years or miles behind us. If anything, it can grow louder the more we try to outrun it.
In recent months, life has pulled me in countless directions - family, work, service, and tending to my home, mind, body, and soul. Seeking calm, I tightly structured my days, hoping efficiency would bring peace. Yet, during a recent silent retreat, I heard a deeper call. I needed to slow down and have a real, honest reckoning with God about how I was living. I realized my soul cannot flourish in hurried spaces. It thrives in stillness, in rhythms that root me in God’s presence and open me to the quieter currents of life.
One moment this fall made this truth especially clear. As I stood at the kitchen counter, eating while working, my contractor gently asked, “Do you ever sit down to eat?” His words struck a tender chord. It was not just about meals but about how I rushed through life, even during times meant for nourishment. Since that day, I have chosen to sit for lunch, even when my to-do list looms large. Sitting has become a quiet rebellion against the rush - an intentional act of trust, a way of meeting life with presence instead of haste.
I have found a similar invitation in walking my daughter to school with my husband and dog. What I initially imagined was a race to beat the bell, but it has transformed into something far more meaningful. Together, we notice the light shifting through the trees, feel the crisp morning air, and share whatever comes to our minds. These walks have become a touchstone for me, a daily reminder that slowing down is not about losing time but reclaiming it.
Advent offers us this same invitation. It is a season of rest and reverence, a call to pause, release our energy, and trust God’s timing. It invites us to embrace the beauty of becoming, to marvel at what is quietly, wondrously, yet to be.
Lord, help me slow down so I can draw closer to You and the ones I love. Teach me to embrace life’s rhythms that invite me to love deeply and listen fully.
Tam Lontok