Tuesday 1st December

Opening Doors

I was listening to something on the radio yesterday about advent calendars.  And the fact that cosmetics companies are now producing them at a cost of anything up to several hundred pounds containing teeny tiny samples of make up and perfumes - one for each day.

It would appear that the cosmetics companies have cottoned on to the fact that we all seem to have a deep fascination with opening doors :)   And you do have to admit that its not just the kids who thrill to the anticipation of an unexpected treat behind a piece of hinged cardboard.  We all love it.  Its part of what makes Christmas fun.

Back when I was a kid advent calendars were mostly flat pieces of card with a religious theme and behind each door would be a picture of something to do with the christmas story.  A donkey or a star or a lamb.   My brother and I had such fun trying to find the cleverly hidden numbers and then opening the doors and comparing pictures.  This year my kids will be opening a Lego calendar.  A hugely expensive opportunity for a three way argument every day as they fight over whos turn it is

and who got the best item and why ' it's not fair!!'

This year I have a challenge for you.  Every day between now and Christmas day why don't we get up in the morning and mentally open an imaginary door and ask God what He has behind it for us to discover.   Why don't we look for the surprise He has for us each day in the lead up to Christmas.  Perhaps we will bump into an old friend.  Or find something we had thought long lost.  Maybe someone will bless us with a gift or we shall find the perfect present for that impossible-to-buy for relation.   Maybe someone will pay us a compliment or we will find a tenner in the pocket of an old coat.   The ways God can bless us and speak to us are legion.  He is doing it all the time its just that most of the time we aren't paying attention.   If you have children who are opening doors in the coming days why not explain to them that the cardboard door and the piece of chocolate are just a way for us to remember that God is good to us every single day.   As we watch the children's delight and excitement as they open each door let's remind ourselves that we are invited to have the same attitude as children.  Wonder, excitement, anticipation, fun, laughter, joy in the small things.   We could all do with a bit more of that in our lives.

Monday Dec 30th

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;

Man never is, but always to be blessed:

The soul, uneasy and confined from home,

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

– Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man 

Homesickness is a really horrible thing.  I remember when I first moved to Northern Ireland from Scotland nearly sixteen years ago I felt terribly and dreadfully homesick.  I cried for six months.  I didnt know anyone at all in Ireland except Keith and his mother.  Id left my lovely house, my best friends, my church, my job, my family - everything - behind and embarked on the new adventure of married life.  I didnt realise just how difficult the change would be and what a huge hole would be left in my life.  Id taken so much of it for granted and now it wasnt there.  I longed for the people and the places which made me feel comfortable and safe and ' me'.   For months and months I spent all my time introducing myself. Telling my story to people over and over.  Nobody knew who I was, what my gifts were.  They didnt trust me because they didnt know me - and I found that very difficult.   I didnt feel loved - accepted, yes, but not loved.  Love takes time doesnt it?  

Alexander Pope in the words above says that the soul is ' uneasy and confined from home'  .  Homesick.   Kept away from everything familiar and safe and comfortable and good.  Foreign.  A stranger.  

How homesick must Jesus have felt as He left the glory and warmth and companionship and peace of heaven to come down to a grubby, sinful, hateful, cold earth as a baby?   How must His soul have longed and yearned to be back with His Father?  We catch glimpses of it throughout His life but we can never really know how He felt.

This week I have had an amazing discussion with many of my Facebook friends about depression.   So many of us are struggling with that feeling of unease.  We don't 'fit'.  We are not content.  We are longing for something different, better, for wholeness and peace and love.   Yes, I do believe it is possible to achieve much more of that here on earth than many of us are experiencing right now.  We can all draw closer to God, be more surrendered, more open to being loved by Him.   But to some extent this side of heaven we are destined to be ' uneasy'.  Always longing for a home we have not yet reached.  

The amazing gift of Christmas is that Jesus suffered homesickness for us so that he could make a way for us to go home.  '  He left His Father's home above, so free so infinite His grace, emptied Himself of all but love and bled for Adam's helpless race'.   We are in the world but we belong somewhere else.  Which is why we sometimes feel like aliens and refugees here.  And why we should have particular compassion on the homeless and the dispossessed.  We know how they feel.

Jesus, as we look forward to Christmas and remember the way that you came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem we want to thank you again for everything You gave up for us.  Thank you that You freely chose to leave the wonders of heaven to walk the earth.  Thank you that you limited Yourself to the body of a man and the language of humanity so that You could bring us home.   Thank You that we belong with You, to You and that You have prepared a place for us.   We long for it.  Help us to live well as we wait.    Amen

Sunday 29th November.

Welcome to the Blog!

This is the third year that I have embarked on an Advent Blog.  It all started as a way for me to try to focus myself on the real meaning of Christmas in the madness which is the run up to the big day.  But as I started to share these posts on Facebook it rapidly become something more  - a place to encourage and share with friends.  And I do sincerely thank all of you who have read these posts ( and the Lent Blog ones) over the past couple of years.   Im looking forward to this next few weeks of pondering and creating and hearing your thoughts in response.

Today is the first Sunday in Advent.  The day we light the candle of Hope in church.   

When I started surfing Google images for pictures to add to this page I was struck by how many of them were to do with either waiting for something better, or for keeping on going through adversity or about new growth/new life.   Which I suppose is what the Christmas message is all about.  It's about Jesus coming as a baby and promising to come back again.  Its about us keeping our eyes fixed on that promise of His return and believing His words to us that He will never leave us or forsake us and that He has sent His Spirit to be with us.   And its about the possibility for new life and growth regardless of the circumstances.

The Biblical notion of HOPE is not about wish fulfilment or positive thinking.  It is something much more concrete.  It is part of the package in which faith is wrapped.  It is light in darkness.  It is strength in adversity.  Hope in the word and the promises of God is crucial because without it we easily become prey to deception and lies.     For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.* Romans 15.4

The Bible is a story of hope.  It paints a picture of God's rescue plan for mankind and we can see how so much of it has already unfolded from the time of Adam until now.  Now we are in the final chapters of the story.  The tying up of the loose ends, the last act of the play where it all comes together and makes sense.  It can be hard to see how it will all play out but if we follow the trajectory of the story we can see where it is headed and we can place our hope in a happy ending.   Jesus is coming back.  He has purchased the pardon for all our wrongdoing and has made us right with God.  One day pretty soon we will stand before Him and we shall know Him.   I personally can't wait.

Lord I thank you for the hope that rises in us as we contemplate your coming and your coming again.  This advent I pray that you would focus my mind on things that are above.  Inspire and encourage me and those who read this blog so that we can be filled with hope whatever our circumstances.  Dispel the darkness of despair and hopelessness . As the world reels from the events of terrorism draw people to your light and help the church to bring your message of hope.   Amen