Sunday, November 29, 2015

The First Sunday: Happy New Year, Happy Advent

Today is the first Sunday of a new liturgical year.  What will this new year bring?

I am ready for more light.  The past year has seen more than its share of heartbreak:  death of friends, relationships that aren't mine spiraling apart, lay-offs and then more lay-offs and cuts of every sort at work, and my body feels more pain than seems normal.

Of course, my fear is that this past year is the new normal.

And then there's the international news which seems increasingly bleak:  terrorist attacks and rumors of more to come, war planes shot out of the sky and rumors of more to come.

It will be good to light the Advent candle this morning.  My church will be making Advent wreaths.  I will make a new one too.  This year, as with every year, I will resolve to light one more candle each week as we watch for the Messiah.

I think I will also be doing some art projects.  I have a yearning to get back to fiber and paint.  It's a constant yearning, and I felt a spike this morning as I went to this site, The Advent Door.  I have a few more batches of papers to grade, but I see some vistas of time on the near horizon.

All too soon, we will be here, Christmas, with all the Advent candles lit:



Let us look for ways to slow time down--our Advent traditions can be those tools to slow down this hectic season and to make us more aware.

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