The week of Christmas has arrived.  You can do the countdown on your fingers now.   We’re expectant, we’re anxious.  Something big is happening, and it’s coming soon. 

I don’t know your plans for the week to come.   Maybe you’re putting the finishing touches on the decorations in your home.  Perhaps you’re listening to Christmas carols. Maybe you’re planning a dinner or baking special goodies.   Maybe you’re writing Christmas cards or enjoying the cards in your mailbox.   Maybe you’re expecting guests or getting ready to go elsewhere to “be a guest.”  And maybe you’re feeling lonelier than ever, dreading a first Christmas alone.   Wherever you are and whatever you’re feeling, this is not just an ordinary week.

There’s a wonder in Christmas; there’s a beauty in God being born on earth.  There’s a miracle in Christmas, not just for today but for all time.  We stand in awe that the Almighty would come as a tiny baby.   An expectant hush comes over us as we ponder such love.  

Christina Georgina Rosetti (1830-1894) pondered this wonder in her poem, “Love Came Down at Christmas.”  The author of three collections of mostly religious poetry and several devotional books, Christina suffered poor health from the age of 16.  It is thought that she found solace in her writing.  In this poem she presents the image of “Love” incarnate, “Love” descending to earth.  I’m told the word “Love” is mentioned twelve times in the three short stanzas

“Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
Star and angels gave the sign.” *

Let the expectant hush of Christmas light your path today, love incarnate, love unconditional.

Judy

*Love Came Down at Christmas by Christina Rosetti