From chocolate to Lego and everything in between Advent calendars begin filling store shelves come November. This often consumeristic celebration of Advent divorced from its 4th-century roots neglects the heavier themes of waiting, hope, darkness, light, repentance, rest, emptiness, and filling. In a world that equates December with yuletide debauchery and commercial frenzy, Tish Harrison Warren masterfully reclaims Advent as a season not of escapism, but of honest reflection and holy longing. This is no glittering holiday self-help book; it’s a profound invitation to slow down, repent, and live in the aching beauty of the "now and not yet."