Advent day 5

We took our first walk through the city tonight to admire the lit streets and buildings. Stockholm is a beautiful place during the Christmas season and I enjoyed seeing the twinkle of white lights on trees, hanging from buildings and in apartment windows. What struck me most about our walk however was how un-crowded the streets were. At 8.00 p.m. one of the main shopping streets in town was practically empty. I did remark to Doug that I saw an ad in a newspaper that made me chuckle the other day...open hours for a particular store had been extended during advent. They were now going to be open from 10.00 a.m.-8.00 p.m. Clearly a slightly different mentality than the frenzy of Black Friday in the U.S.
As we wandered through a relatively quiet city, I began to think about how one finds their quiet center during this over-stimulating season. It is so easy to get caught up in the crush and rush of the season and therefore it does require intention to find the quiet and focus on what is central to this season...an incarnate God who came to the earth to show us the way to peace. Surely there is a way to clear some space in your busy life to sit quietly in front of a lit candle to ponder the light of lights whose very life points our lives towards peace...and perhaps even a little quiet. Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps God might have something significant that He'd like to whisper in your ear? Don't miss what He has in store for you...seek out the peace and the quiet.