Pastor’s Perspective

I recently read an anonymous poem about December. The opening was good. It said that Brooklyn was so cold that it pulled itself closer to Manhattan just to have something warm to lie beside. That's very descriptive but I liked the final line best because of its honesty. It said: "It's December and no one asked if I was ready."

 Bad grammar aside, the statement is completely true for me. How about you? Lots of festivities occur between now and January. Lots of organizing and chores and volunteering and it all comes at a point in the year when we naturally want things to slow down. I think that's why the earth shifts on its axis and makes the days shorter. Less light means less can be done. Just ask an old farmer headed out for morning chores in the dark.

 But this is also the second most important season in the church year. Jesus is coming to be with us. Ready or not. It's probably not our schedule that matters anyway. Nature has its rhythms and God has God's plans and neither wait for us. That's a good thing because if I had to do what God does in December, I might not get around to it until April.

 Allen