The air has become decidedly cooler over the last week. Ice has formed in buckets left behind from the summer. A light skiff of frost and/or snow greets us each morning. The ground is hardening under our feet as the frost settles into the soil. The days are very short as the lights are needed earlier and earlier every day.
Winter is coming. Bleh.
But each night more and more houses are lit up with Christmas lights. More and more Christmas songs fill the air. Carollers, hats, bells, Christmas cards, all are showing up with increasing regularity. The excitement is beginning to build.
It really is a wonderful time of year.
Excitement is filling the air all around us. The children are counting down the days, getting louder and louder as they move through the Christmas countdown crafts. Churches are gearing up for the last few Advent services and for Christmas Eve.
For me, it all builds to the evening of 24th. That is the special night. When we remember the birth of our Saviour and do it in such a peaceful service, where the love and grace of God just feels like it fills the church.
This is a special time of year. A time where we bring ourselves into the presence of God and let his love and grace be shown through the special gift of the Christ child.
Merry Christmas to you and your’s.