Lights, Stress and Oases of Sanity at Christmas
This is the month when diaries become full with Christmas parties, lunches, dinners, concerts, pantomimes, mince pie and mulled
wine parties, Christmas tree festivals, Nativity exhibitions and Winter Wonderland experiences.
Authors are out at Christmas fairs hoping to sell books to eager Christmas shoppers, artists are holding special exhibitons in "pop-up galleries" trusting that art-lovers will wish to purchase their paintings and prints and sculptures for their loved ones.
We will, most of us, eat and drink too much, other than those who have vowed to remain true to the Slimming World "Food Optimising" plan throughout the Christmas period, and of course, those who are choosing not to celebrate Christmas for numerous reasons.
Probably the only sanity I'll experience in the next month is the Quiet Day I'm attending on the day this post will be published, Monday 4th December, at St Mark's Church Leamington Spa, led by the Bishop of Warwick. His subject: "Turning and Returning: Starting again with God and with Others."
The Quiet Day is organised by The Well Christian Healing Centre, which is a wonderful ministry here in Leamington Spa which offers prayer and new hope and sometimes healing, to many. I've been involved with it myself as a voluntary worker, and also have experienced prayer from the Well healing team.
So now as I gaze at the Christmas tree lights - which I love, and which have from childhood always been one of my favourite things about Christmas - I long for the peace and reflection which I believe will be soaking us all at the Quiet Day tomorrow.
Authors are out at Christmas fairs hoping to sell books to eager Christmas shoppers, artists are holding special exhibitons in "pop-up galleries" trusting that art-lovers will wish to purchase their paintings and prints and sculptures for their loved ones.
We will, most of us, eat and drink too much, other than those who have vowed to remain true to the Slimming World "Food Optimising" plan throughout the Christmas period, and of course, those who are choosing not to celebrate Christmas for numerous reasons.
Probably the only sanity I'll experience in the next month is the Quiet Day I'm attending on the day this post will be published, Monday 4th December, at St Mark's Church Leamington Spa, led by the Bishop of Warwick. His subject: "Turning and Returning: Starting again with God and with Others."
The Quiet Day is organised by The Well Christian Healing Centre, which is a wonderful ministry here in Leamington Spa which offers prayer and new hope and sometimes healing, to many. I've been involved with it myself as a voluntary worker, and also have experienced prayer from the Well healing team.
So now as I gaze at the Christmas tree lights - which I love, and which have from childhood always been one of my favourite things about Christmas - I long for the peace and reflection which I believe will be soaking us all at the Quiet Day tomorrow.
A lovely post.
ReplyDeleteI so love Quiet Days. Ironically, I'm too busy to go to one this Advent but I have booked one at Penhurst Retreat Centre on Saturday 3rd February, called My Yoke Is Easy: 'This will be a day of quiet reflection in which we will listen to God to help us listen to ourselves and in doing so discover what makes our hearts sing and our burden light.' Can't wait!