I have such mixed feelings about this. I'm excited - Another Christmas! Another new chapter in my life! What will this new year bring? I'm nervous - Where will it take me? I'm frustrated - Another year about to end - what fruit has this year brought? Have I been faithful in what I've been called to do? Which direction do I go in now? I'm weary - like the trees that drop their leaves as winter sets in, as winds howl around them, I feel stripped bare. This year, amazing in the experiences it has brought, the people I have met, the things I have learned, has also taken from me physically and emotionally.
How about you? What has 2007 been like for you? What relationships have been made? Broken? Restored? Have you seen the hand of God in your life this year? Have there been times when he has felt distant, or even absent? What thoughts and feelings do you experience when you think about next year? What hopes? What fears?
This year, I want to celebrate Advent with intent. To celebrate the making of old things new. The bringing of hope to despair. The arrival of a great Light in the darkness. The coming of my Saviour.
Last year, my friend Jessika and I did an advent calendar swap as a way to both exercise some creativity and celebrate the coming of our Lord more intentionally. She created a wonderful mobile filled with chocolates, fun facts and quotes, while I made a series of brightly-coloured mini envelopes, each stuffed with a Bible verse and a chocolate for her to ponder and rejoice over as she celebrated the coming of the King.
We decided to do the same thing this year. Being on different continents necessitated a different approach -they'd have to fit in an envelope to be mailed, and they'd have to be chocolate-free to make it through customs and the South African heat, etc...
I didn't bring any craft materials with me to South Africa, but I soon fixed on the theme of 'making all things new', and I had the idea to recycle everyday items - brown paper bags, raffia, scraps of parchment. I collected together quotes, Scripture, and snippets of Christmas carols which I felt captured the essence of Christmas. The result was by no means a work of art, but despite the scrawly handwriting and the amateurishness, it did reflect my intent.
As I sat down to create the calendar, I wished I could make one for all my friends and family, who've supported me this year in so many ways - prayer, financial help, notes of encouragement, advice in times of confusion. Actually making and sending calendars, while what I really would have liked to do, was out of the question - there wasn't enough time. Aha! An online version on this blog!
And so, dear friends, while the actual calendar will go in the post to Jessika very soon, a virtual calendar will come up on Mustard Seed Tales, starting on the first of December. Will you please join me as I celebrate the Advent, as I reflect on Immanuel, God with us, as I reflect on the making of all things new? Will you join me as I create a little space in the noise and activity of the everyday, as I light a candle to reflect the arrival of light into my darkness, peace into my chaos?
A wee taster...
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