The season of advent has arrived, the run-up to Christmas, and our minds are beginning to turn towards the traditional giving and receiving of gifts. For the next few weeks, people will be shopping for presents, writing Christmas cards, and sending out invitations to friends and relatives to celebrate Christmas with them. It's a busy time, a commercial time, and it can be hard for us, caught up in the bustle and fun of Christmas preparations, to remember exactly what we are celebrating and why. But for Christians, this is also a time when our thoughts turn to the birth of our Saviour and what his coming has meant for us all. Here's a short prayer, an 'arrow' prayer, for those moments when the stress of preparing for Christmas makes us temporarily lose sight of its true significance:
Lord, when our lives seem so hectic that we have barely a moment to ourselves, grant us the peace of your presence and the knowledge that you are among us now, here in the world, a living God. In the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
And here's a lovely shot of the village pond in Willoughby, one of our neighbouring parishes here in Warwickshire, taken a few days ago during the spell of icy weather. Perhaps it will be a white Christmas this year! Don't forget, our Carol Service in Flecknoe takes place on Sunday 18th December at 6pm in St. Mark's Church, with Carol Singing on Tuesday 20th December, meeting at Hillcrest House at 6pm.
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