THE PRAYER ROOM: Praying for a new season

Daylight Savings around this time of the year is always a stark reminder for me that the season is changing and that for a couple of months we'll be cooped up inside for the most part and barely seeing any sun. If I were feeling alone (which I've felt many times in my life), this time of the year can feel depressing. For others, I know it's an exciting time of the year with holiday festivities just around the corner: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. It could also be stressful planning for dinners, family get-togethers, and Christmas shopping. The holiday season is lovely but it may also feel overrated as one grows older. It must be nice to have kids--it would bring the magic back to the holiday season. I'd make sure it would be wondrous for them.

When one gets older, having experienced so many seasons of life, the holidays could also trigger painful memories. I remember one year I had broken up with my boyfriend after Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's was unbearable. I kept on watching other happy couples share their Christmas and New Year's together and felt bitter and sorry for myself.

All of this is to say, how will we celebrate the holiday this year? I think as a church we're challenged to put together our services with care, love, depth, meaning, and artistry. What will Advent look like at The Bridge? I remember celebrating Advent for the first time in South Africa. It was amazing. All the usual symbols of North America Christmases were flipped--I mean I was celebrating Christmas on the Durban beach, the weather was warm, and the palm trees were swaying. My brothers and sisters brought their different ways of celebrating the season, helping me to rethink and reflect upon the season. Being in a different context--especially hot weathered--certain images in scripture came to life, cultural contexts understood, and the story of baby Jesus was far from being rote but exciting and relevant.

So pray for The Bridge--that we will celebrate our first holiday together in a meaningful, refreshing, relevant, if not, in a new way. Let us welcome the Holy Spirit to introduce new life-giving symbols and practices--so that we may draw closer to Him. Amen!