My heart is full tonight as I write this. It’s a Sunday night. And it is snowing outside. It’s so peaceful and calm outside, no wind, and just a beautiful blanket of snow. I’m sitting in my chair, a soft throw blanket atop my legs. The warm glow of the Christmas tree and a couple lamps are all that light my home. The steady dance of a candle on the table next to me lights up my bible, flipped open to the Gospel of Matthew.
My leather journal is resting on the left arm of my chair, flipped open with notes about the readings. The house is quiet. My wife and son are upstairs, and the cat is asleep in another chair.
I go back to a few weeks ago where I wrote about how to embrace this time of year, and not to dread it resist the urge to simply want to fast-forward and wish for warmer, brighter days. But I wrote about how to actually embrace the cold and the darkness through the Norwegian concept of koselig– which means a sense of coziness. Being together with friends and family. Enjoying the beauty of winter, the crispness of a morning frost or a blanket of a fresh snow. In the dead of winter, a fresh snow is like a new beginning. A renewal. A breath of fresh air.
There is something about this time of year, with the cold clear skies, it brings a sense of calm in an otherwise disheveled world. It’s a time to reflect and search within, waiting for Him. I pray all of you experience God in this way this Advent, the coziness and warmth of God in our presence.
My family and I went to Adoration at our church tonight. It was an extra-special adoration event because it was led by a couple world class musicians and a speaker who has a divine gift for both music and speaking. The music was truly divine, and in conjunction with the presence of the One Divine Son of God and the community of our parish, under the warm glow of the church lights with the fire in the fireplace out in the Commons and snow falling outside, it was truly koselig.
In the truest sense of the word – it was Emmanuel. God was with us.
This was one of the most divine experiences of Eucharistic Adoration that I have experienced. It was our faith in its utmost simplicity, and in its true, most magnificent form.
My heart is full tonight. Not only because of the personal experience with Christ and the snow falling outside, and the season, but because of Who God is. Because of what He has done. Because of what He will do.
Jesus. There, before us. With us. God is with us. Just as it was promised.
This is the time of year where not only do we await Jesus, but where things can quiet down enough to where we can reflect on the year gone by and perhaps listen for His Will for you in the coming year. Is He calling you to do less of something? Or more of something? Or something entirely different and perhaps uncomfortable?
Now is the time to be with Him, as He is with us, and listen for His Will. Listen for what He is calling you to do, for what He has to say. It may be subtle. Or it may be life-altering – but either way it will make a difference. A difference in your life and in the lives of those around you.
Don’t be afraid to turn down the noise, just be with Him and listen for what He has to say, and let Christ fill your heart.
