Advent 1

And so, once more Advent is upon us, the season of waiting and looking for Christ's coming. For me, Advent is the perfect antidote to all the craziness of this month. There are sooo many things to attend to, but Advent calls me, again and again, to stop, take a moment, breath, pray, reflect and share. Because in the stretch of eternity, that's far more important than all the other stuff. Each year we, a group of women, have an evening at our church to prepare Advent wreaths together. For me it marks the start of the season. It can be a bit mad - this year there were over 60 of us - along with half the contents of the local forests! But it is also a beautiful creative time, and I enjoy the gathering of greenery, because no matter how foul the weather I just have to go out and get some, and inevitably it becomes a pleasure. This year I ended up at our local loch, with half an hour to spare and the most magical still, misty moment of the day. A small voice called me to linger...

Since then a great blanket of snow has fallen, oh so very early. I'm not quite ready for it! But there is something comforting to be surrounded by so much light that also calls you to slow down, take time, keep warm...and wait.

Indoors we are as cosy as we possibly can make ourselves as we come in from our days work. Layers of pyjamas and woolly jumpers are the order of the evening. As are thick nourishing soups, perfect for tired minds and bodies. We mark the passing of the days with our Advent calendar and wreath, and a Jesse Tree in a corner of the kitchen, taking a few moments by the fire to think, read and pray before bedtime. I admit it's a challenge to keep the seasonal chaos at bay, but I so want to live beyond all that, to know peace and trust in this waiting time.