In the midst of it all

As we prepare for Christmas this year, with everything else on the go, here are some helpful thoughts: a poem by Barbara Doerrer-Peacock:

In the midst of it all… a government tax, a burdened journey, a burgeoned town, no room in the midst of it all. In the midst of it all … each single life, here and now, walks the hard pavement of ordinary life, wading through the sinking mud or flash flood of waking tasks, worried racks of anxious unknowns.

But, somewhere in this night, the desert night of long ago, or this daily desert of a road— a twinkling here, a shining there, a flower blooms in deepest winter. Love has come and calms the shiver. A warming kiss, a soft embrace, a lighted window, a stable place.

In the midst of it all… a hard won labour, grace is born in fleshly groans. The baby cries his birthday song as angels weep and sweep the heaven-to-earthbound glory. And, love has come, to each and every one of us whether our eyes are open and we perceive, or closed in lonely fear.

We will receive this love come to us – whether open-hearted in abundant waves, or in unsuspected and surprising ways. Love has come. Love has come… Arise and shine – with the sun! Love has come in newborn grace to offer truth and God a face.

May you and yours experience the blessing of the Light who has come into our world this Christmas!