Christmas means so many things, it's hard to define. Phases of emotion corresponding to my age. The unsurpassed anticipation as a child, only to be outdone when it was my turn to be the giver to my children. Oh, how I wanted to make it magic, just like when I was a kid. But it's not about the gifts, is it? It's family and friends, caring and sharing, and most of all, it's about the feeling of Christmas in my heart - that is what I was really looking for.

I was looking to rekindle Advent. The significance of Advent is the preparation for the commemoration of the birth of Jesus.

I needed a break from the commercial part of the season...where the sacred and the secular collide and are crudely tangled for weeks, where goodwill towards men and generosity struggle with the ugly crassness of consumerism, and where the birth of love into the world is reduced to a rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” in three-part harmony.

In this reflective space of Advent, I focus beyond the headlines to prepare me for this most beautiful celebration. Oh, Advent, I do love thee, where I had begun to light the candles, feeling warmth as a rekindling began in my heart, my heart.

These candles are, but, a small light in the darkness. When the darkness is especially intense, it seems like that small light shines so much brighter. Advent emphasizes to me those smaller moments of light. Those small moments in life. The important little details.

So small and yet, I can begin to feel new possibilities. Sometimes I need a reminder. I can feel the love from here.

Thank you to so many people for reading and supporting me at ths time. Life and work have just gotten in my way,and you are in my thoughts...just letting you know that there is so much love in my heart for all of you.

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