PREPARATIONS

Well, winter weather has arrived in Leduc - not a lot of snow so far, just a few centimetres (it's been too cold to snow).  Life just slows down when it gets like this.  People drive slower (most of them); we move slower (all those extra layers make moving a bit tougher).  It's harder to get motivated to leave the warm comfort of the comforter on the bed when the alarm clock goes off.

For Christians in the north of the northern hemisphere, the arrival of this weather often happens concurrently with the beginning of the season of Advent.  Advent is a season of preparation and waiting and anticipation.  Winter beings out many of the same qualities.  When the wind chill is expected to be -35ºC, one can't just throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and be ready to face the day.  It takes some preparation.  Because it is too cold to expect the kids to always walk home from school, I have been picking them up on the really 'cold' days.  But with four kids in three schools, I can't be there exactly when each one gets out; I've got a route to follow.  So, some of them have to wait.  In the cold and snow of winter, waiting is an expected must.  For us northerners, there is also anticipation in winter - for my oldest son, he has been waiting for the ski hills to open and now the winter has arrived, they 'finally have'.  For my other kids, they are seeing the joy of Christmas on the horizon.  I would like to think that this is a theological anticipation, but I believe it has more to do with stocking and trees than churchy-things at their age.

Winter is a blessing and for that reason it is one of my favorite times of the year.  I appreciate the change of colours, the brightness, and the forced waiting and slow down that this time of year demands.  All of this will serve me well as Advent begins this weekend.