anticipate – Carrie's Bench

Roger Hutchison - Advent 1

And so a new year begins… in the Christian tradition, we mark another circle around the sun.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent – a time to begin anew. As the month of December begins energy pulls toward Christmas.

Every store we enter, every advertisement we see, many songs we hear — all focus on the importance of preparing for Christmas. This is often chaotic, stress-building preparation. Preparation far from the call to collect oneself and gather with others to intentionally listen for sounds of God’s arrival.

Advent is a time set apart to live with a sense of wonder and anticipation. It is a time to settle the noise around you, to wait for something to come- something exciting and new.

Does your heart race? Do you feel a bit unsettled?

Light a candle in the dark places and stay alert.

Thank you, Roger Hutchison, for this beautiful image of Advent1.

Something wonderful is coming this way. Each year at this time, when the ancient calendar turns, and the crisp wind blows, I feel the satin-winged angels flying through the star sprinkled night, to herald the advent of a new beginning. That is what I claim for our lives: that new beginning, that sacred start to a life renewed. Something wonderful is coming to you, to me, to all the world. No hurt or harm can hold back the healing: they must give way, yield to the power of mercy, and let the angelic chorus fill the sky with songs of hope, singing for you, singing for me, singing for the sheer joy of singing. Something wonderful is coming this way. (Bishop Steven Charleston – 2014)