December 21

Job 37:5-6a

When the world around me is taking their Christmas afternoon Day nap, I bundle up in my warmest winter gear from head to toe. I grab my dog’s small leash and maybe attach his winter coat too and we take a walk. It is a solace to me on this day to be in the natural surroundings. When it feels like I am the only person out and enjoying the world around me. It is an opportunity to Pay attention – while my dog may glide over the tops of the snow and ice; I may not be so lucky. When a section has no visible concrete path below, it may be a few inches, it may be a foot of snow I am about to step into. And the section that looks like everything has melted away and is glistening in the sunlight is in fact a solid slice of ice. So we walk, slowly but confidently. No need to hurry. No need to worry I am missing anything. I enjoy the silence. The full range of senses are able to take in what is around me and within me. Around me I feel the wind blow through the trees. Watch the snow and ice shift just a little as the sunshine penetrates its layers. And I listen to the crunch of my feet breaking through the un-melted sections of the path. I also listen within me. Taking this day as an opportunity to reflect and discern. I reflect on God’s holy love this day represents. The healing and restoration that feels personal on Christmas. I listen to what has been meaningful for me in this season. I give thanks for those small and huge ways I have experienced God. I begin to wonder, where in the coming moments, days, months ahead I will feel God’s presence in the midst of my life. And I hold that warmth deep within as I continue to slowly trod in a Winter Wonderland on Christmas Day. It is one of my favorite things.

~ Sarah Bishop

Prayer

Inescapable God, we praise and thank You always for being with us, whether the skies are blue and the day is sunny or the skies are gray and a blanket of snow covers the landscape, You are with us. Whether the palm trees sway in the breeze or evergreen boughs are sparkling with icicles, You are with us. Thank You for making Your presence known to us when we are still and, as we contemplate the beauty and wonder of Your creation. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.