Advent Alive

Yesterday was the beginning of Advent, the 25 day season of anticipation, longing, and waiting before Christmas. At Anchester House (which is named after the street, by the way), we reflected on a passage from Isaiah. My favorite lines: "we are withered like leaves"--which is how I feel in winter at the end of a semester (limp, worn out, sucked dry)--and "we rouse to cling to you." I love the word "rouse," the idea of getting up in the middle of the night, of becoming more childlike, more alive. And "cling"--hold me, God. Hold me together in the busyness. Keep me alive.