The snow in Manitoba came late this year, but it came with a vengeance! I was reminded of the lines in one of Christina Rosetti's poems:
In the bleak mid-winter/ Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron/water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow.
Before the big snowstorm I was still able to do my lake walk. Someone had decorated a little shrub and made it into a Christmas tree.
It seems to me that this poor little tree represents more of the reality of what we are celebrating than the lovely tree in my living room...Jesus, born in a stable, in the small town of Bethlehem, to insignificant people. There was no snow, but there was discomfort. The only warmth would have been the heat of a lantern and the warm breath of the animals sharing their stable with the young couple.
Henri Nouwen writes: "Our hope is hidden not in the possession of power but in the confession of weakness." As I light my third Advent candle I ponder this statement.
Whether I like it or not, my age has made me weaker. The experience of loss can be overwhelming...the loss of a life partner...the diminishing of physical and mental strength...but there is also time to look back and be amazed at what has all taken place since that mid January so many years ago when I made life changing commitments that took me to astonishing places....
There is a new realization of the importance of community--family, neighbours, church... Neighbours who show me they care by grabbing my arm as I struggle to walk up my icy driveway, then getting salt from their own supply to diminish the danger; the young boy who shows up to shovel my drive way; the stranger offering me a ride home from the grocery store; someone from my church community putting a railing along my front steps...
daughters who call, text, visit and bring me joy
Sisters that take me to appointments, take me shopping, craft beautiful quilts, plan an annual family Christmas gathering, listen to my phone calls when I need to talk ...
From a Mennonite Central Committee newsletter:
It can be easy to find change overwhelming. yet, it is particularly that idea that change happens, that something new is right around the corner waiting to break through, that is the heart of the Christmas story. For Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and wise men, the rulers of the time and even the innkeeper, the Christmas narrative is a marking of profound, life altering change. In many ways, when we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating change.
Change happens. Love holds.
These warm mittens crafted and purchased at an MCC craft sale will warm someone's hands this Christmas.
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