December 5, 2023

“Rouse us from sleep, that we may be ready to greet the Coming One.”

After these words were spoken, the first candle on the Advent wreath was lit.

Advent has begun.

Not only is our church sanctuary bedecked with stunning new blue paraments…

BUT our home also is awake to this blessed season of the church year.

I always begin the decorating in the kitchen, welcoming the Santas carved by a talented friend. I love the kitchen’s red walls throughout the year, but especially at this time of the year. Yes, I know this is a lot of stuff in a tiny space, but oh, how happy these treasures make me. Somehow I still find room to cook and bake.

Santa watches my every move in the kitchen!

In the dining room the Christmas dishes are on the buffet and the Nativity Scene in its usual place, and this year for the first time the Snow Village is in the bedroom.

The living room is ready for cozy evenings reading or gatherings with family and friends.

But here’s my favorite–a new collection of felt critters and trees. They make me smile every time I pass through the dining room. They may stay in place all winter.

Beginning the Inner Journey

I have always loved creating a setting for an event or holiday. For hospitality, as well as for the daily routines of my life. Unpacking the Christmas bins and arranging our treasures is a form of creativity for me, but it also leads me to the deeper invitations of the season.

After two days of turning mess into pleasant order and a kind of beauty–at least to my eyes, I needed to pause. To rest. To begin the unfolding into what this specific Advent holds for me.

I settled into the snug with my chosen Advent books at hand: Lighted Windows, An Advent Calendar for a World in Waiting by Margaret Silf and Haphazard by Starlight, A Poem a Day from Advent to Epiphany by Janet Morley.

I began the journey by discovering who would be my companion this Advent. I fanned the the deck of cards, “Advent Perspectives, Companions for the Journey,” in my hand and with my eyes closed, my right hand moved slowly over the cards, somehow knowing when to stop. I opened my eyes to meet my companion–one of the Wise Men.

This is not my first year a Wise Man (Woman) has been my companion. In 2020 and 2021 the other two Wise Men led me on the Advent to Epiphany journey. (I must be a slow learner.)

The questions for reflections are the same as for those previous years:

How would you describe the journey you’ve been on this year? What course corrections might be needed now to better lead you in the direction of your Bethlehem?

What precious gifts are you most eager to offer God in this Advent season?

Where in your life might you need to travel a different route in order to avoid danger or harm?

What do you do to follow Jesus?

The reflective questions may be the same for each of the Wise Men, and perhaps some of the answers may be the same or at least similar as in other years, but this is the first time I have taken this journey as a 75 year old woman. I bring this specific self into the journey. I have never lived through 2023 before, and I bring this year’s gifts and losses and joys and learnings into this Advent.

Yesterday morning I read these words in the Margaret Silf book:

So though we are urged to travel light, we must carry our dream with us, wherever the labyrinth of life may lead us. The dream is our energy for the road. It is our memory of those moments when God has unmistakably touched our lives.

p. 30

The journey begins.

An Invitation

What are you experiencing during these early December days? I would love to know.