The holidays are supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year”… but for many of us, they aren’t. In fact, studies show that nearly two-thirds of adults experience increased stress and declining mental health during the Christmas season. Between family dynamics, financial pressure, end-of-year deadlines, and the weight of unspoken grief, December can feel more like survival than celebration. In Part 1 of our Advent Miniseries — The Tension of the Season — we step into that reality honestly. Because Advent was never meant to gloss over our pain. It was designed to name it, hold it, and remind us that hope rises in the waiting. We explore the tension between what we long for and what actually is — between joy and exhaustion, celebration and sorrow, expectation and unmet reality. Through Romans 8:22–25, we look at the “groaning” Scripture says all creation experiences… and why that longing is a sign of our hope, not the loss of it. And we revisit the first Christmas — messy, chaotic, and anything but picture-perfect — to remember that Jesus doesn’t wait for the world to be tidy or our hearts to be steady. He comes right into the middle of it. Into the noise, the fatigue, the ache, the silence. Into your reality. If this season feels heavy, complicated, or different than you hoped, you’re not behind — you’re right where Advent meets us: waiting, longing, hoping. In this episode, you’ll be invited to slow down, breathe, and bring your honest heart before God. Because Emmanuel — God with us — is still drawing near. Not when we feel festive… but when we simply make room. Listen now as we begin the journey toward Christmas by acknowledging the tension — and discovering the hope that grows right there in the middle of it.