So how are we sharing that joy with our teens in the midst of the Advent season? Are we able to make the waiting and the longing relevant to their lives? Teen’s very lives are an Advent of sorts, a time they spend reflecting on and preparing for what they hope will be the joy of their lives to come – higher education, jobs, marriage, travel, and adventure.

Teens are waiting, waiting to discover what God has planned for them and just as small children can become impatient, overtired and cranky as they wait for Christmas to arrive, teens can suffer the same fate as they wait to arrive at their “real lives.” The purple of this season of their lives can overshadow the joy in Christ that is theirs right now as well as in the future.