A birth is pending; we await the presence of a newborn babe in the world. We look forward to the moment when we meet a new life that introduces our daughter as a mother, her partner a father, my husband and I grandma and grandpa, our son an uncle.
Joyful anticipation of this being has been building while we witness him grow protected in his mother’s belly. Just settled into a new home, I’ve made a blanket, planned a blessing for the mother to be, imagined where the baby will sleep.
How apropos that we prepare for our grandson’s birth while in the Christian tradition, people throughout the world prepare to celebrate the coming of a child. We rediscover innocence, hope and possibility with every baby’s birth.
There have been months of preparing our home, our lives to be ready to receive the child. During Advent, the four weeks before Christmas, we prepare our souls. A practice of reviewing the passing year clears space for love to be born anew. In that process, I consider the four aspects of the human being, noting one each week: mineral, plant, animal and human.
Week one: What happened in the physical realm (accomplishments) this year?
Week two: What practices did I adopt or refine?
Week three – What happened in my relationships (new friends, struggles, deepening of old relationships)?
Week four – How did I become/express my Self, my destiny?
When I ponder and write about these questions, my awareness expands, gratitude grows, I become conscious of who I am and who I am becoming. I locate my north star. I celebrate the joy of giving and receiving. I become willing to note and to accept what is, to create space for what is possible, to begin again like a child.
The celebration of the baby’s birth aligns with the winter solstice, when the light begins its gradual return, each day growing a little longer. It is nature’s whispering of hope that spring will come again. It is powerful although subtle, unlike the miracle of childbirth which is accompanied by tears and the trumpeting of angels! In the still of winter we witness with awe, the wonder of creation, the light in the world and in the child.
Welcome light! Welcome baby! Let the glory of life be expressed through you and may each of us be awakened to it! We await your coming. We are ready.