Friday Ramblings

How is it going in the department of expectation?

The show last weekend went far better than I ever expected.

The best part was when my friend, Amy showed up. 

OUT OF THE BLUE.

This girl totally blew my socks off with her surprise visit.

We had been texting like normal all week and I had no idea she was in town.

NONE.

NADA.

Until I turned around at the show, and there she was.

I think I made quite a scene, I can't remember.

What I do remember is hugging her so tightly and the feeling of being loved.

so good.

Were my expectations met at the show?

Yeah, I think so.

I did a lot of mental gymnastics of minding my own business and focusing.

I met lots of wonderful people who came out in pouring rain and freezing (for us) weather.

But more than that, I think I put the expectations down. I let them go.

It made for a much nicer experience.

I am continuing to do artwork around the advent season.

I love this verse from Isaiah 11:6-

"The wolf will romp with the lamb and a little child will lead them."

Can you hear the expectation in this verse?

The hope that comes with it for peace and security?

This week my thoughts were on Mary as she traveled on a donkey, nine months pregnant and giving birth in a stable. 

I did some reading and found out that this was probably the best they could get, coming from a large family and not one of great means. They had to travel for the census and be registered and quite possibly were given the stable as Mary and all that surrounded her would be "ritually unclean" until her son was circumcised eight days later.

Nine months pregnant.

I remember that time in my life. The expectation of it all. The weariness in it. The heaviness. The longing for relief mixed with excitement and hope. The wondering if my body could take any more or give anymore to the baby growing inside.

Was I saying, "Let it be with me just as you say"?

not quite.

It was more like, "please let it be today. please let me sleep. please let me see my toes again. please, please, please."

Added to that, if anyone had asked me to sit on a donkey for days on end I would have politely but firmly declined.

Then I read Luke 2:19.

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

or, as the Message version reads:

"Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself."

There are, at times, events that come into our lives that we just cannot put into words.

Events that leave us humbled, a little confused maybe, but also in utter astonishment.

As I look into this Advent season and wait in expectation, I find myself wanting to see the daily events that will make me ponder. To look for the events that I can tuck away deep within myself.

I think I will go back and change the writing on the canvas with Mary's face and put the words from verse 19 on it. Maybe even on the back, I'll write down the events that I want to keep tucked away in my memory.

What will you look for this week?