Insistent

Monday of the Third Week of Advent

In my integrity you hold me fast,
and shall set me before your face for ever.
Psalm 41:12

I hear the tea kettle begin to murmur and know it is time to attend to it, but before I can extract myself from the task at hand it begins to whistle shrilly. I usually try to anticipate when the water will boil so I can pull the kettle off the burner before it begins to shriek. Partly this is so the noise will not disturb anyone, including me. But it is more true that I want to deal with it before its song becomes a strident demand.

As I think of the week ahead, I also feel the desire to keep things calm, to anticipate potential stress, to be attentive to my tasks and the world around me so that I can keep chaos and confusion at bay.  There suddenly seems too much to do.

But then I realize it is the nature of Advent to be insistent. I am on the path toward the breaking in of a mystery, one that will not be stopped, that demands my acknowledgment, that will take my breath away.  And one that will hold me fast as I am ushered into the presence of newborn deliverance.

I take a breath. I am in good hands.


Image by Ken Boyd from Pixabay