What about you? What does this Season of Advent and Christmas bring to your memory? I don’t want to focus only on food or traditions, after all, they can, at times, become so locked into place they become just routine and nothing of importance is gained from them. What do you anticipate occurring during these four weeks? We are told it is a time of anticipation and preparation. We can place our Advent Wreaths and Manger Scenes in prominent locations so that we pass them by everyday, but what do we see, and what do they mean, and what do they tell us?

The fact is, each of us must answer this question, but, it is not a standard answer that comes from a multiple choice test. You don’t necessarily choose one answer from column A and one answer from column B. After all, the answer may change from year to year because this year, you or I may grow into a new tradition, and by doing so, we grow out of an old tradition.

If this Season’s focus is about preparation and anticipation, then one of the most important things we can do is be open to something new. That was what the shepherds did on that hillside, it’s what the innkeeper did for Mary and Joseph, it’s what the angels did as they gloriously announced the coming of the child - - - something new. That something new may be different for each one of us. It may touch the lives of others or it may be very personal where only you will discover its meaning. Either way, that something new may be the catalyst in opening your life to a different direction.

I wonder if you and I are willing to take that kind of chance; to anticipate and prepare ourselves for something new.

~Pastor Zimmerman