Pause In Advent #4 - [WWJ] D

W = Word, W = Waiting, J = Jesus, and finally, D = Differently. This poem has been doing the blog-rounds on the net this year [thank you Cat and others] It is from Helen Jesty, of the Wild Goose Community, and is called 

"Doing December Differently". It is so perceptive - many of us find that the joy of Christmas is tinged with difficult moments, that even the happiest of families may have sadness. In this final Pause In Advent, I want to stop and remember those who are struggling - and remind myself that the message of the angels wasn't a chuckle and an ephemeral "Ho ho ho!" - but a resounding chorus and a lasting "Hope! Hope! Hope!"

Let the bells jingle but make time for tears to fall.

Eat, drink and be merry but do not go hungry in that inner place.

Rest, reflect and remember, Be true to yourself.

Many of us can't play happy families at this time of year.

December is for a difficult diagnosis as well as dreaming of a white Christmas

December is for divorce as well as decorations.

December is for death and dying as well as discos and dancing.

December is for distances that separate us from people,

even those in the same room.

Disappointment in December is especially hard to bear.

Sometimes the light no longer shines in the darkness.

The desolation swallows us up and we die a little.

Yet a kindly word, a bird in flight, a tree alive with hoar and hips

can drown out despair and kindle determination to move on.

Dig down deeper than the tinsel to the place where hope is found.

Maybe, just maybe, the flickering flame will be fanned gentle into fire.

Whatever your personal situation this Christmastide, above all, may you be blessed with a sense of the peace that passes understanding, and the knowledge that you are truly loved...and thank you to all the other bloggers who have joined in these 2016 Pauses, whether in writing, reading, or commenting.