My Advent Wreath

PHOTOS: Mary van Balen
This year’s Advent wreath reflects the non-traditional path I have been traveling and the beauties to be found in it. Many of my belongings are packed away and I was not sure what kind of wreath would mark the weeks of Advent. After unsuccessfully looking for the perfect blue and rose colored candles or candle holders, I decided to use what was at hand instead.

I drove to a friend’s home, and together we walked past her old barn and along the paths that wind through fields and along fence rows to gather earth’s bounty. I had nothing particular in mind and we kept eyes and hearts open to see what would be offered for the taking.

Cold winds had stripped away petals and foliage revealing what undergirds nature’s magnificent summer displays. The spare brown stems and delicate lattices that held each flower in place have their own subtle beauty.

Winter in our lives can do the same to us as challenges and suffering strip away externals and force us to look at what holds us together and enables us to be who we are. Rather than lament the passing of summer and its extravagant gifts, we learn to wait through winters and appreciate the graces they bring.

So, my Advent wreath celebrates the simple yet profound and hard-won graces of this time in my life. It reminds me that I wait with the rest of creation for the re-birthing of the Holy One within me and within the world. I will have faith and know that I am not alone in my vigil.

Walking the fields with Melanie, warming our frozen fingers around a hot cup of tea and eating homemade bead at her counter was a liturgy celebrating the beginning of this season.

I returned home and arranged the berries, pine, stems, and grasses around four vigil candles and a bird’s nest. All creation is gathered together and it speaks of the miracle of God’s choosing to be one with us.

Jesus was born two-thousand years ago to help us recognize the Divine Presence that lives within us. The Holy One who is our center and support. Who makes us who we are. Who does not abandon us in the winters of our lives.

Jesus is re-born in each of us and will bring all things to oneness with Him and with The One Who Sent Him. Advent celebrates what was, what is, and waits expectantly for what is to come. As I ponder the events of the past year and of my present place, I know that we are called to do the same.
©2010 Mary van Balen