Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
We have waited in silence on your loving-kindness, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
Psalm 48:8
in the midst of your temple.
Psalm 48:8
The narrow road winds through the trees, unlit except for the crescent moon that peeks between bare tree limbs. It is only 5:00pm, but it feels like the middle of the night as I travel this unfamiliar route to an unfamiliar destination. I drive with caution because of the unfamiliarity, the darkness, the rain, and the real possibility that a deer might jump into my path.
But it is not a deer. I see a car coming towards me slow to a stop, and I slow too as my headlights pick up shapes crossing the road. Not deer. Ruffed grouse.
I wait in silence and awe as three of these majestic birds cross the road, one fanning her tail feathers in a regal display that I can see in the cross beams of the car lights.
Here in the middle of the woods in darkness and rain and on an unfamiliar road, I am in God’s temple, watching as God puts on a grand display of love and life. In the dark and unfamiliar roads of Advent I also watch, waiting for the majesty of an infant to cross my path.
image credit: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
