As we move forward into Winter, it’s clear that the darker mornings are with us. Many people dislike this time of year, since the lack of vitamin D and sunlight can have a real impact on our wellbeing. It seems everything in the natural world is slowing down too.
The Christian season of Advent, running through December, reminds us that as nature slows down, so we can too. This is a time of turning our gaze to a more introspective way of living. In the slowness of Advent we learn to ‘wait well’, using this time to be more attentive to our spiritual lives until we eventually revisit the familiar story of Jesus’ arrival on earth at Christmas.
In these dark winter Covid-days, we remember the power of God to break into our world, and bring us light. Despite the tough restrictions of the moment, we are never far from God’s presence, or his ability to speak to us. Even if we are shielding, or self-isolating, God’s love can reach out to us, and bring us hope. Advent, and ultimately Christmas, are times of remembering that God is indeed someone who is with us, and someone who will never leave us.
John wrote in his gospel “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”.
May this famous verse encourage you during Advent and Christmas, and may you experience the light of God’s love, even in the winter darkness and the darkness of the pandemic, which has made 2020 such a difficult year for us all.
With Christmas blessings
Angela