Linger Longer with Gail+: A NEW DAY!

Tiny spots fill the room as I turn on the lights draping our little version of Christ's birth.

My hubby's dad brought the creche home after being stationed in Germany during WWII.

The figures are simple but the scene tells the story every year.

I wind up the attached music box and listen to Silent Night for the kazillionth time.

Today I place baby Jesus in his simple manger.

It's a new day.

We celebrate the birth of the king of kings and lord of lords.

Of course, one look at the little scene and we see a helpless little baby in a feeding trough.

Who would think that this helpless little one would change the world . . . again and again . . . as God-followers come to understand the significance of this new light that fills dark days.

I have come to follow the path of those celebrating Christmas centuries ago.

Carols to celebrate Christ's birth do not begin until today, Christmas.

In fact, it is at the Christ Mass that we pull out all the stops.

Every carol is sung with full orchestra . . . or whatever instrument players are available in the congregation.

We don't decorate the church until just before the Eve of the Christ Mass.

It's so magical.

There is something that happens within me that is beyond magical.

God is doing a mighty work to re-energize my oneness with Him.

It's like the little light within me begins to shine more brightly than ever before.

You see, I have chosen to walk with Mary through her last four weeks of pregnancy.

It's that anticipation any new mother feels . . . anticipation of the 'advent' of a child to be born.

Advent

A pregnant pause.

Four weeks of quiet.

Not necessarily a time of emptiness, far from it.

It's a time of fullness, of joy, of wonder, of heavy anticipation.

It's a time of hustle and bustle as with any new mother who wants everything to be just right for the day of birth.

I don't think Mary was anticipating a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

What is normally a three day journey by foot might have taken twice that long.

Just imagine yourself . . . pregnant . . . trying to stay on a donkey.

I think I'd rather walk, thank you.

So, I did imagine a little bit.

The closest I got was when dear hubby, as usually, parked the car at the furthest spot from the entrance to the store.

The wind was blowing at gale speed at below freezing.

I was not a happy camper.

My plight lasted about three minutes, the time it took to scurry to the store entrance.

I cannot even begin to imagine the God-strength of Mary, carrying a child whose seed did not belong to her husband, bravely traveling during her most uncomfortable month before delivery of a child in a dung-smelling barn.

That's why we journey through Advent with songs foretelling, not celebrating, the 'coming' of Christ.

The One who 'was and is and is to come' cannot be celebrated until He is actually with us . . .

Emmanuel, God with us.

So, for four weeks we take a very pregnant pause and walk with Mary as she and Joseph journey to Bethlehem from Nazareth to be counted . . . and taxed.

We take time to hear the story of the miracle of inception.

We wonder as Mary and Elizabeth meet just months before John, the baptist, was born.

As John comes upon the scene and exhorts good Jewish God-followers to repent and return to sole worship of their one and only God, I reflect on my own journey.

Wonder

Reflection

Waiting

Anticipation

It's all part of pondering on that pre-Christ time, or without Christ time, when we wander in the wrong direction.

Just as those who wandered in the wilderness before they entered the promised land, this is our time to wander a bit.

Am I wandering aimlessly, in constant circles?

Without God's precious presence in my life I have no beginning or end.

Wandering is like that.

That's why Advent is so refreshing.

It's a time I can rethink my walk in Christ.

It's a time to reconnect with the story . . . of how God came down to us . . . as a helpless babe.

This helpless babe grew up to lead any who chose to return to God and follow His direction.

So, today, Christmas, the light breaks through.

Because I opted to take time to reflect, to ponder, to take that pregnant pause, I am ready to celebrate another year rejoicing in the presence of God in my life through the God-man, Jesus Christ.

I continue this pageant through Epiphany, the twelfth day . . . the day the wise men come on the scene.