Friday, December 6, 2019

Dear God,

December can be the month of great joy or sorrow.  It can bring us what we want or make us feel we lack what we want most.  But what it is most is a time to dig deep, like searching for living water when we are truly spiritually thirsty and finding it waiting.

Why would we look to December only as a time for shopping, merrymaking, putting up a tree, eating specialty foods, wrapping gifts, fighting crowds and planning events, get togethers, and meals?  Why would we look to the surface of things as both the joy and sadness of this great month when so much more remains deep, very deep.

Each morning I am reading from two Advent devotional books.  I am loving the real-life stories but more than that, I value what lay hidden deeper than their sharings.  I search for the gems, the treasures, the hopes and dreams and joys that increase faith, sharpen my thinking, and call me to transformation in so many areas of life.  One thing that always comes from this is a stretching, a widening of space for love and growth and seeing you on a daily basis.

I grab hold of December like a toddler with a new toy.  Although everything is not perfect in my life and there are so many ways my relationships can be changed, enhanced and deepened, yet still, I know the best things in life wait to be found in deep places.

Holy God,
thank you
for the gift
of December.
Thank you
for gifts
that come
straight from
your hand.
Thank you
for love
that greets us
December 1
and continues
all month long.

Always yours, Andrea