Decorations

In our search for the holy, there are times when our restless preparations smother the very truth for which we are searching. We decorate our rooms and make elaborate preparations for our prayer, when a single flower and a moment of waiting are all we need to meet the One Who Comes. In our restlessness, our search sometimes becomes the only god we ever meet.

My days are all spent

in decorating my house.

I am forever preparing

for your arrival.

I hunger for your presence

yet I take not the time

to wait for your coming

and to my great sorrow

you never arrive.

It is because I refuse

to be silent

that I cannot hear you.

It is because I refuse

to await you

that you cannot come.

It is because I refuse

to be idle

that I cannot enjoy you.

It is because I am too busy

hanging decorations

that I cannot welcome you home.

Yet in your deep wisdom

your presence leans towards mine.

You understand my decorations

to be symbols of my hunger

and you know of the day

when my heart swept clean

will be the only decoration needed

and I will listen for your coming

like night awaiting day.

May your Advent be filled with patient waiting and your Christmas with endless joy.

- Anthony, Jen, Joe, and Patrick

CYM Staff

(Text adapted from Seasons of Your Heart: Prayers and Reflection, by Macrina Wiederkehr,

New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991.)

Access Ladders Archives | Visit our Vendors | Submit Content