I’m getting this post done a day later than I planned because, as usual, the holidays are catching up to me. I suddenly find myself with hundreds of things to do and less than a week before Christmas to do them all. Throw in a few parties and two kids ready to derail my carefully laid plans, and I’m looking back wondering where December has gone. It makes me laugh to think that the theme of the past week has been JOY, because so often my own joy gets stolen by the enemy. There are so many little things I’m tempted to worry about, so I have to make the choice to choose joy in the face of chaos. Otherwise, what kind of example am I setting for my own family if I can’t let Jesus be the focus this season?
This is the third installment in my Advent poetry series. You can find the previous posts below if you missed them.
Week 1: Hope
Week 2: Peace
Thief | Day 15
It’s the season of smiles
Pictures and presents
No matter the cost
No matter the quality
On the surface,
Perfect
Ready-made and gift-wrapped
Assembled and batteries included
But maybe underneath all the ribbons
It’s not so clean-cut
The fight before the photos
The gathering debt
Rising tensions and underlying tears
When all should be merry and bright
There can be storm clouds blocking the view
Where does the joy go?
Where is the love?
The childlike enthusiasm we once cherished?
Why have we left open the windows
And invited the thief to come in?
Even | Day 16
Even the ancient gates
Declare You Lord
Even the bars and bolts
Bow before their king
Even the waters of the deep
Send out their praises high
Even the bodies in the skies
Can’t help but sing
How can I keep silent?
How can I contain my joy?
For all the earth
Proclaims Your glory
All creation shouts Your praise
And even if I said no words
Even the rocks would cry out
Chasing Lights | Day 17
Sometimes life calls for
One more circuit around the block
Driving a little slower
To better appreciate the display
Of lights illuminating the night
Or to impress the toddler in the backseat
Who sees every house with the eyes of novelty
Sometimes the noise needs to fade away
Because moving too fast
Causes the colors to blur
And the front doors to run together
So that each is indistinguishable
From the next
And all the hard work
Amounts to nothing
Sometimes I need to slow down
And let myself be free
To experience the world
Through the lens of a child
For whom every moment is new
And every happening, a blessing
Lumen | Day 18
The candle may be dim
But even in night’s dark shadows
Its light can be seen
When everything else is hidden
Its flame is more powerful
Than armies
Because it goes overlooked
When the rest of the world flares on
In daylight’s brilliance
Yet it reaches the deepest corner
Where even the sun cannot go
And flourishes
Under cover of night
Such is the hold of joy
On a world that’s gripped by darkness
Pebbles | Day 19
How small the things
That bring us joy
But how large the reward
And how small the things
That steal our joy
Like a pebble caught in a shoe
You Are | Day 20
You are the joy
A lighthouse in the fog
A drumbeat in the dark
Pillar of smoke by day
And fire in the night
You are the hope
Cutting through despair
Like the fingers of dawn
Like the voice of a friend
After years alone
You are the peace
A companion to walk beside
On the winding road
The still waves at sea
And the bird in flight
You are the love
That washes feet
That crouches down
That reaches out
That wears the crown
You are, You are
The One who came to save us
The One we’ve waited for
Quilting | Day 21
There is a certain solace to be found
At the sewing machine
The predictable controls,
A controlled pattern,
All laid out in a planned itinerary
The semblance of order
Laid out before me
But underneath the piles
Of ribbons and neatly cut squares
Lies the potential for disaster
Broken needles
Snapped thread
Snags in the topstitching
But when we embark
On a new project
We never plan to give up
Even in the face of uncertainty
And trials
We simply trudge on
Through the difficulty
Because once begun,
We desire to bring the pieces
To completion