Friday, December 2, 2011

Advent


"The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; 
make level in the desert a highway for our God."
Isaiah 40:3

It is the season of Advent, a time of expectant waiting and preparation….

Our contemporary culture is not a patient one.  We operate quickly and instantly in our digital world, expecting immediate answers and rapid results.  But often, things simply require time, and then we must wait and listen and watch for a revealing.

Sunday marked the first Sunday in Advent.  Monday, I cleared away the reminders of Thanksgiving, putting away the autumnal tones painting our home and beginning anew this season of waiting.

Part of the preparation for us 21st century pilgrims is the “getting ready for Christmas.”  I am not a Black Friday shopper and didn't partake of Cyber Monday, but I did make a trip to JoAnn Fabrics on Wednesday to buy some fabric, and there I happened upon four aisles of Christmas trappings marked 50% off.  Advent has just begun and already there are Christmas sales!  We really can’t wait well, can we?



I have been slowly making some gifts for the many people we care about.  My latest projects are quilted potholders based on this pattern.  It has been fun, gathering scraps of fabric, piecing them together and stitching them up.



My sincere hope is that I might walk carefully and mindfully through this bustling season, quietly coming to a more intimate understanding of the incarnation, this word become flesh, this birth of a baby in a manager so long ago. And may it be so for us all.

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