Dear friends,
I don’t know about you but I haven’t taken well this year to the shorter days that come with winter.
Usually I enjoy the stay-at-home cosiness of it all. I mean, if you ask me, it’s never too early for jammies at the best of times! And so what if hibernation mode leads to an extra pound or three on the hips, there’s good reason those jammies are elasticated!
But… the season isn’t, this year, for me, the contented sigh it so often is. And hunkering in just doesn’t feel to be an option. Maybe because the world itself feels sometimes to be pressing in. Too much uncertainty. Too much violence. Too little trust and tenderness to pull us through.
If you feel like me, navigating Christmas could be even trickier. And getting in the Christmas spirit a bit of a tall order… if, I guess, what we mean by that is jollying ourselves up and getting on board with making of Christmas opportunity to up the consumer ante.
But what if getting in the Christmas spirit is actually to expect to find such elusive things as trust and tenderness. Because isn’t that how God came to us that first Christmas. Leaving behind power and knowledge such as we can only imagine. Entering the world the same way we all do, in the womb of a woman, trusting her to nurture and protect and grow God in tenderness.
There is the wonder of it, the mystery, the beauty.
I pray, as Christmas nears, we all might find a little of this wonder and mystery and beauty settle in our soul, opening us to trust and tenderness, making of us a shelter for God who comes to us still. And real joy and deep peace will surely become us all.
Go gently, friends, venture well. And a truly happy Christmas to you when it comes,
Carol Anne
