Last Week of Advent

Sunday was the fourth Sunday of Advent.  We forgot to light the wreath here at home.  I had a voice recital that evening, and chores from Saturday left to finish, so I guess it got lost in the shuffle.
Things are beginning to feel more Christmassy, but the weather is not.  Far too warm here in Central Oklahoma for me to believe that it is December.  I miss my cold blustery weather. 

Trying to find my way to the Christmas spirit, I wrote this poem today:

Seeking Christmas
By C.K.Armistead 2015

It seems we notice
Only once a year
That Christmas time
Is drawing near.
When, if we really listened,
We would always
Hear
The singing of the angels
Bidding us forget our fear.
For Christmas to keep working,
For it to make a difference
In our living,
We must remember WHY it
Is coming,
And not live for the getting,
But the GIVING.
It comes not to fatten
The bank accounts of merchants,
Or to fill the seats of
Theater-like mega-churches,
It comes not to depress us,
Or to give us "all the feels",
It comes to remind us
That even in great darkness,
Light can be found
It comes to tell us of
Love without bounds
To tell of hope renewed,
To remind us
That we are LOVED
And that joy and love we feel
At Christmas to be near
SHOULD be seen
Every day of the year!

In our church, Advent is the season that begins the church "new year".  We start the cycle over with Advent, waiting in expectation for the One God is sending us, Christmas celebrating His arrival, and on from there through the church year, celebrating and meditating on his life, and what it means to us today, how it should change us, make us better.  Often, it is easy to get stuck in routine, but this tradition does not cause that for me, I find a comfort in the liturgies, the rituals that have been around far longer than I, words that focus my thoughts on Christ, and on what His works, words, and sacrifice mean to me here and now.  There is a comfort in that structure, one that makes it easier for me to travel on in this journey, like a well-marked trail leading on.

So, as our season of anticipation nears its end again, I wish for you a joyful and meaningful celebration of the arrival. May the love that came to earth that night make a difference in those touched by it so that the world may be a better, more loving, more peaceful place.