Walking in the Dark - Looking for the Light!

This is not my favorite time of year. I dislike rising and coming home in the dark every day. I have not been diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) but I feel like I have some of its symptoms: fatigue and depression. I also have a craving for comfort foods like pot roasts, soups, and stews. Anything that warms the body. I also have a slight feeling of disorientation and delight when I get home, to stay home.

Advent is a season when we all might experience that desire for being home and perhaps not knowing how to get there. With the holiday season now coming into full swing outside the church, our preparation inside the church can be disorienting. Yes, we may be planning our holiday trip home or preparing our home for relatives and holiday guests who look at our homes as “home” but the “home” we seek in the church has little to do with a building or geography. It has everything to do with whatever we hold dear in our hearts and whether in this season where joy, happiness and busyness are the only socially acceptable traits, we who struggle in our hearts can find a sense of home, peace & contentment?

So if you find yourself anxious and edgy about this time, know we have a God who came in the most anxious of times to be with us always, as a comfort and to bolster our courage. If you find yourself in grief this holiday season with a heavy heart mourning a great loss of one loved deeply, know that God is with you and feels your loss as God’s own. If you find yourself overwhelmed with the busyness of the season, know that God waits in the quiet, little spaces to give you rest, peace and refreshment.

May this Advent be a homecoming, where all you hold dear abide in your heart. And if you find your path home dark and unsure, let the love that shines in your heart, light your way and show you a new way "home". Let your light, however small, join with others and together may we push back the night and celebrate the dawn of a new Way home, sharing the love of Christ.

Happy Advent!

+Jeff