So here we are again; December and the season of Advent is upon us. A time of waiting, waiting and preparing for Christmas Day, however you celebrate it. In life, there are many things we have to wait for, the full range of the good, the bad and the monotonous! Perhaps you can sadly sympathise with waiting around for a replacement bus or train? Or waiting for test or exam results? Or in these days of online shopping, that delivery company that said they would drop a parcel at your house ‘somewhere between 7 and 3’? Or maybe you’re waiting for the Christmas episode of your favourite tv programme. 

 Advent is the season of waiting and preparing. Perhaps some of us are still thinking ahead to Christmas and all that there is still to plan. The tension, the apprehension and perhaps even the feelings of dread of what’s to come. But before you start thinking about whether or not the turkey is big enough for everyone, take a moment to pause and rest in the moment of now; take time to think about the year that is about to come to a close. It has been another strange year, not what we expected, or perhaps hoped for, but there are many things to be thankful for. 

 Some of us may have experienced some lows over the past year and perhaps feel we have little to be thankful for and can’t rejoice in the spirit of Christmas. Perhaps we have lost family, friends; we don’t have to be glib and fake our smiles or pretend to be happy. The Christmas story is a story that is filled with hope, with opportunity, with potential, with a dawn that comes at the end of a long night, and then a resurrection at the most unexpected of times. They may be small, but give thanks for the little victories from this past year of 2021, for the good that has happened to us this year. Count our blessings. 

 And as you look forward to the new year, and creating the memories we so often talk about with clients consider, where have you or do you find joy and happiness? Are you spending enough time nurturing those sources of happiness? 

 Steve and I received a Christmas card this year, which says “Christmas begins with Christ”; as we go about the busyness of preparing for Christmas, let’s not forget that the Christmas story of hope and promise is for everyone. Take a time to sit quietly; if things are good for you at the moment, then thank God. If things are hard, you might want to shout out and cry to God. He will listen. 

 Peace and joy to you this Christmas