Skip to main content

Experiencing

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
John 1:14,16 

 And in these last few days, it becomes personal.  We have built up our sense of longing.  We have tried to prepare our hearts.  We have heard again the stories of those who were part of that first Christmas.  And now the Word is ready to dwell with us.  Are we ready to see his glory?  to receive grace?  to experience all that he has for us?

 If you're like me, you may still be thinking, "no! I'm not ready!"  The Christmas cake only has marzipan on it, there's tons of people we never did send a Christmas card to, and the presents - well, they'll probably get wrapped by Christmas Eve.  And even after all this Advent blogging, I still feel  much more like a dusty old stable than a sparkling house.

 But you know what?  Christmas Day will arrive on Wednesday regardless.  And if I spend it looking at all the things I never got done, I won't enjoy it at all.  But if I make the decision to fully experience the day - the family, friends, carols, presents - then I probably won't even remember those cute decorations I didn't get around to making.

 And Jesus, fortunately, doesn't wait until we've got ourselves all cleaned up and perfect.  He plunges right in, dusty stable and all, and says, "Hey, I'm here now.  Just look at me, and I'll deal with all those things you thought you had to do."

 So, ready or not, let's make the decision to experience Christmas, and to experience Christ.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Derwent Valley: Reaching Derwent Mouth!

It was a much more sensible temperature for walking, and I was excited to explore Shardlow, a small village which was once a bustling port at the end of the Trent and Mersey Canal. This walk would take me to the end of the Derwent and on to the River Trent. I parked in the free car park off Wilne Lane and was soon crossing the Trent and Mersey. Shardlow must have been packed with pubs in its heyday, and a surprising number are still functioning. I passed the New Inn, the Malt Shovel, the Clock Warehouse, and the Dog and Duck. Heritage Centre St James' Church had an enclosed space at the back which seemed to function as library, meeting room, kitchen, and chapel. It was cosy and carpeted - much warmer than the rest of the church in winter, I'm sure. I felt as if I was trespassing on somebody's living room. The main church had numbered pews and a tall pulpit. I liked the patterned altar cloth. I was back on London Road - the old A6 into Derby - and it was a long straight stre...
Post a Comment
Read more

Derwent Valley: Exploring the Astons

It was the hottest day of the year so far, with a forecast high of 32°C, and I was setting out to walk around three places with very similar names: Elvaston, Alvaston, and Ambaston. I was mostly hoping they would be shady! I was expecting to park at Elvaston Castle Country Park, where there is pay and display parking, but I spotted a large layby in Elvaston village, which was not only free, but also shaded by a large hedge. This meant that I didn't walk through much of the country park. Instead I skirted the edges, passing the village hall, with its decorative windows, and approaching Elvaston Castle itself along an avenue of yew trees. Elvaston village hall yew avenue Elvaston Castle was built for the Earls of Harrington and sold to Derbyshire County Council in 1969. Unfortunately the council is struggling to find enough money to keep the building in a state of repair. The castle isn't open to the public, but the gardens are well worth a walk around. The estate church, St Bart...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trent Valley: Twyford, both ways

To complete my loop along the Dove Valley  from the mouth at Newton Solney up to Dovedale at Thorpe, across to Matlock on the Limestone Way , and back south along the Derwent Valley , I needed to walk one last section along the River Trent from Derwent Mouth to Repton. Originally I planned to do it in that direction. But for various reasons I ended up doing it the other way. The walk from Repton to Ingleby was completed weeks ago, at the beginning of June, and, for the sake of completeness, I also, later, walked from Findern to Twyford, on the other bank of the river. If I had done the walk sixty years or more ago, I could have crossed the river by ford or ferry at Twyford, and that would have been my most direct route home. the Trent at Twyford Walk 1: Repton to Ingleby Starting from the centre of Repton, I made my way out of the village and crossed the fields to Milton. Wystan Arboretum Milton The Trent Rivers Trust has been busy establishing the Trent Valley Way . This sect...
Post a Comment
Read more