Dear friends,
Those of you who have seen our kitchen know that our refrigerator door overflows with “stuff”—magnets from all the states we’ve visited, favorite comic strips, drawings from our little friends, pictures, and cards. In a place of honor in the center, held on with a cat magnet, is a postcard with a quotation from Willa Cather. It reads:
Miracles rest not so much on faces or voices or healing power coming from afar off,
but upon our being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes can see and our ears
can hear what is there about us always.
All year long, these words remind me to stop and take a second look at the things I too often pass off as ordinary. What miracles do I ignore because I am not looking and listening? What blessing might I discover if I allow myself the time to be aware?
During the season of Advent, Willa Cather’s wisdom becomes especially important to me. In the midst of shopping and baking and writing Christmas cards, we stop to reflect on the meaning of Christmas. Even as we relive the story of Jesus’ birth on Christmas Eve, we ask ourselves what it means—where is the “peace on earth, goodwill to all” promised in the carols? Where is the Christ child the other 364 days of the year? What exactly is this miracle we celebrate with such fanfare?
The miracle of Christmas is not simply the birth of the Christ child. The miracle of Christmas is the opening of our eyes and our ears to discover Christ who is in our midst every moment of every day. Advent is not merely a time of waiting for the big day; it is an opportunity to be “made finer”, so that we recognize the birth of Christ in our everyday lives—in the kindness of a stranger, in our tears of compassion, in a child’s laughter.
I pray that during this Advent season our eyes and our ears will be made finer. I pray each of us will discover the miracle of God’s presence and God’s birth in our lives—not just on Christmas Eve, but every moment of every day.
May this season be filled with moments of discovery—discovery of God’s love, discovery of new hope, discover of joy and peace. May this season be filled with miracles in your life.
Peace,
Debbie