Advent 2019: December 16, 2019

As we prepare for Jesus’ coming, we often place animals around his crib in our manger scenes, sing Silent Night, and sip special warm beverages in the Moravian Love Feast. In that spirit, reflections are offered:

As I gazed out my back door, scanning the dead leaves and dull sky, I looked for something. Anything really. Maybe I didn’t know what “keeping watch” meant or maybe I just wasn’t looking in the right place. Switching hands with my coffee cup, I began to concentrate on the gardenia bush. It always reminds me of Mom. She wanted to see pictures of it when it was in full bloom. A few yellow leaves caught my attention, and as I was trying to decide if they were a concern, one of the branches began to shake. Seconds later, a small cardinal burst out and took a seat on the deck.

We stared at each other for a bit. I couldn’t help thinking about the many cards and Facebook posts I had seen talking about those little birds, and how that was often the form chosen by a loved one come to check on us. My rational side quickly reminded me that seeing beautiful birds in the winter is one of the many benefits of living in the South.  Besides, he was bright red. I may not be an avid bird watcher, but I can tell the difference between male and female. He was no mom.

I took a sip of what was left of my coffee and chuckled to myself about the odd path my mind had taken. A smile crept across my face as the patter of little feet coming down the hallway announced the start of my day. Breakfast became lunch and then dinner and so on until bedtime closed the book on another night. It was a good day. Nothing really special happened, but that silly smile from that little bird stuck with me all through it. While I looked for Him, He found me.