Advent Visions

December 4:  Unexpected

Yesterday was a rare December day that seemed more like sweet autumn.  It may be the last time this year when we can enjoy such warm sunshine, leaving jackets and gloves behind for a moment.   Even our dogs seemed to savor it, running through the nearby field with joy.    Walking with them, I discovered in the scrubby grass a dandelion in bloom.  It was an unexpected gift, this flower blooming out of season.

For many of us, this season leading up to Christmas is about planning.   Getting the decorations up, choosing the perfect tree for the living room, picking out just the right gifts for our loved ones and friends.   We listen to the voice in our head which tells us that we have to get it all right or the holiday will be ruined.    But the deeper truth of this Advent time is that we are often blessed with unexpected gifts and unplanned interruptions of our ordered lives.   We receive a Christmas card from a long forgotten friend.   We stay home from a wonderful party because of sickness, and find a quiet evening of peace.   We learn that someone is in emotional pain, and stop our busy-ness to sit with them and give the gift of a listening, caring heart.    We discover the freedom of knowing that we have been forgiven for some old offense, and that we are loved in spite of our imperfections.   

Advent, after all, is about the greatest unexpected gift, which came out of season.   The world wants its peace to come in power and glory, and instead it comes from a holy child who appears in a back-alley stable, helplessly full of grace and love.    Like a dandelion in December, Advent sometimes takes us by surprise.  Wait for it.

UNEXPECTED

I wasn't paying attention

when love came knocking.

Full of today,

and burdened with tomorrow,

an unexpected voice

made me stop

to find a brave flower

in the wintered grass,

to heed a holy interruption

that wished to heal

my soul.

It was the wild Christmas gift

my true love 

gave to me.