By Carol Woolum Roberts
With the temperatures dropping, the snow falling, and the days shortening, my routine has changed from outward to inward.
I have gone from existing outside for many of the hours of my day to now existing inside.
I do get outside for parts of the day. I love starting my day when the world is quiet, as I put Cleo’s collar on over her head, and we head down the road to meet our walking partners. In the pre-dawn hours, the world is hushed. There are not many people moving at this hour of the morning. I love this time, this before awake time to be enveloped in the stillness of the world.
These pre-dawn moments are good for all of us to experience. We need times when the lights are low. When our surroundings are quiet. When we can breathe in this tranquil time before the busyness of the day takes over. We can use this time to pray, to observe, to sow our seeds through journaling, to be.
This darkness, this pre-dawn darkness on these shorter days brings me comfort. It brings me peace. It lets me envelop the hushed world around me and pause and reflect on what is good. Winter brings about a different kind of gratitude than the other three seasons. As I reflect on my gratitude list, as we move toward the shortest day of the year, I realize many things on my list are using my five senses, but in different ways than even a month ago.
The warmth of a fire.
The softness of flannel sheets on my bed.
The soothing water of the hot tub as it warms my aching body.
The smell of a freshly cut pine tree in the living room.
The Christmas lights glowing and reminding me that …all is calm…all is bright.
The clothes I wear each morning that keep me warm and dry on my walk with Cleo.
The fact that I can put on warm clothes and walk each morning.
The village of the ski resort next door that provides a safe and shoveled path to walk this winter.
Wrapping myself in a blanket with the space heater on in my office.
Hot teas, hot toddies, hot chocolate, hot buttered rum.
The sound of Christmas music playing in stores, and in my home.
The colorful bags and wrapping paper on the table downstairs to be used to wrap presents.
The anticipation of holiday gatherings with friends and family in the next few weeks.
The ability to share my singing to spread holiday cheer.
The taste of delicious holiday goodies that you only eat this one time of year.
And, again, these days return my thoughts to Advent. This week we are focusing on Preparation and Faith.
Those early morning hours can be spent preparing ourselves. Preparing for the day. Preparing for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Preparing for whatever curveball comes our way, so we can handle it with calm and grace.
In her book “Shadow and Light: A Journey Into Advent”, Tsh Oxenreider shares these words:
“It’s not wrong to delight in beautiful things but keeping attuned to life’s true and good requires an intentional turning of our eyes. We need God’s help to remember the true beauty in the world, because we are so easily distracted by self-serving vanities. The beauty worth lauding during Advent is the slow turning from shadow to light as we inch closer to the celebration of the birth of the Christ child, the hope of all humankind. More than 2,000 years ago, God bedecked the world with hope for countless generations of people. This is the way of the Lord. This is the true beauty of Advent.”
During these short, beautiful days we have faith. Faith that after December 21, the days will return to getting longer. Faith that spring will return with warmth, rains, and blooming flowers. Faith that, even though we may not be able to always see the true beauty of Advent, it is there.
Prepare your hearts….and have faith for tomorrow.
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As you reflect on your gratitude for these shorter days, what comes to mind? Are you grateful for some different things at this time of the year? Share with us some things you are grateful for during this darkening season.
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