Sunday 2 December 2012

First Sunday in Advent: Hope

Well, we had our Preparing for Advent morning yesterday. It was wonderful!  Wonderful women who came and threw themselves wholeheartedly into all the activities- especially the pear-making! (Mine has only just reached a form of completion- you can see where it might end up if its quality were of the edible kind!)

I was so struck by all that worries us in the Advent season that I've posted it as a page above. We are buffeted by such a list of things to do and think about and accomplish. It was good to have a whole morning to set those aside and try to fill ourselves up on what Advent really means to us, what we really want to convey to our families and those around us.

Last year I put out our Advent candle holder and noticed that we had decorations that said Joy, Peace and Love so I hung them on it. Mattman came to inspect, looked me squarely in the eyes and said, "Mum, you have no hope for Christmas." How insightful that sun is!  I told some friends about this, and a few evenings before Christmas, Queen Niqi arrived with a packet of cookies for us, and chatted about this and that without my shaking the sense that there was something that she wasn't saying. Eventually "I didn't want you to be without hope this Christmas, " she said, pulling out a tiny package that held the most beautiful hand-sewn pillow of Hope you could find.

I think if I wasn't being constantly reminded that Christmas brought us hope, I wouldn't be in the slightest bit hopeful of achieving anything!  But the Life-Light is coming into our worlds, and not the darkness, the busyness or the shopping can put it out.


10 comments:

Angela said...

I love the pear! So glad the day went well. So glad you have hope for Christmas!!
On Christ the Solid Rock we stand.
Hallelujah!!!

Pom Pom said...

This is a day of song! We sang such good songs at Brad's church today and then CB sang, too! So precious.
We have our family Advent tonight and I can't find the wreath. We'll make do. We shall sing and the girls shall dance and we will bow together in worship of the KING! I'm so glad your Advent event went so well and was such a blessing to so many. LOVE the pear. LOVE you!

Fat Dormouse said...

I love the story of your getting hope for Christmas! God bless you, dear Mags, in your preparations for a joyful, peaceful, love-filled, and HOPEFUL Christmas this year.

Floss said...

I think Pom Pom still hasn't found that wreath, from the comment she just left me... I love this post. Thank you for joining in!

Thistle Cove Farm said...

You have Jesus,
you have hope.
What a wise boy Mattman is and how kind Queen Niqi was to you.
Mags, you are blessed with hope.

Sue said...

Hello! I've found your blog!
Thank you for the book.
Wishing you a blessed Advent and Christmas.

Elderberry-Rob said...

This is a lovely thought and your son has insight! Hope is important isn't it - I don't always make New Year Resolutions but I think I will this year - they are Hope and it's good to have Hope for a better year, to be closer to God, to be a better servant. Betty

Unknown said...

A lovely thought, and how insightful of your son.

Kaye Swain - SandwichINK for the Sandwich Generation said...

Awww, what a joy to have hope restored! :) Have a blessed week of Advent.

Kezzie said...

Oh how lovely, thoughtful and insightful of her! What a lovely idea!

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