Space for quiet

This Advent and Christmas are quieter times for us than we've had in several years. New York is beautiful in the holidays, but a little frenetic too, and my last church had a whole host of activities for this time of year. And after all our transitions, our family of four seems to be uniting around keeping the season simpler. The kids want to come home from stressful school schedules and relax on the couch with cookies. No one is wanting a lot of presents under the tree. And besides, the sun just keeps shining here. Our dog looks for every opportunity to leave the chill of the house and go out to lie in the warmth, and one or more of us usually follows. So the first full Saturday in December, historically busy and scheduled in some way, will see Jim and I (and the dog) going for a hike instead. 

In other words, we're trying to practice some of what I preached last week: to allow some space and emptiness in this season. I'm grateful this year we have that opportunity. I know it may not always be this way, maybe not even as the next few weeks unfold. But I hope to learn from this time - a reminder of the presence of God in every moment. I pray you have moments of this awareness in this next week too.