mary, did you know? / a thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices

I didn't have an opportunity to write yesterday, so now I'm slightly behind -- but I didn't want to neglect yesterday's song snippet.  I was pregnant with our daughter during Advent, and I can remember gathering around the altar for Communion and staring at the carving in the wood of the left side of Joyful Servant's altar.  The carving depicts the baby Jesus in the manger, hands raised.  Oh, my land, I would reflect.  We're going to have one of those.  And more to the point, Mary's baby was just like my baby.  She experienced the same feelings and felt the same fierce protectiveness toward her child.  And he was just as powerless as an infant as the baby I'd soon deliver would be.  I'd never truly appreciated the radicalism of Jesus' entry into this world.  Jesus as an infant defines how God works: in us and through us.  Or, in this case, through a Palestinian teenager.

As for today: keep watch for the "thrills of hope" you receive this Advent season.  I know I can become so focused upon end results that I neglect the signs of possibility in this world.  For what are you grateful today?