This is the second week of Advent in the church. Some modern conventions have a white candle in the middle of the wreath to be lit on Christmas Eve representing Christ’s birth, or even all white candles instead of the traditional purple and pink, but at our home, we use the traditional convention. That means we are lighting two purple candles.
This week is the Bethlehem Candle. Some say it represents faith, some say it represents love. It is indicative of the Holy Family’s belief in their mission and their trek to Bethlehem. I think a journey like that would require a lot of both.
As a romance writer, I could write forever on either subject: love or faith.
This is a beautiful time of year for love.
I know so many people who have winter weddings. There are many engagement stories at Christmas time. One in particular that sticks out is that of a friend of mine…Her boyfriend took her for a ride in a horse drawn carriage around the park (complete with sleigh bells), then stopped at one of their favorite places by the river where they had a spectacular view of the city, and while the snow fell, he got down on one knee and proposed. She said she always wanted an outdoor winter proposal because she grew up in Africa and didn’t have that kind of weather. She was enthralled by it and wanted a special memory in the snow. And despite that fact that he hated winter weather, he did it for her. That’s love for another. That’s faith in your relationship. That’s romance.
We could all use a relationship like that in our lives that demonstrates such commitment of love and faith.
How are you embracing love and faith as you prepare for this holiday season? Why don’t you share your story here?
This year the holidays will be quiet for us. We’ve had some struggles in 2013 with health issues, so we’re concentrating on healing. The other day I was holding a pity party in my office with only myself invited. I was thinking about how much I miss my mom and dad and feeling a little weepy that I won’t be with my daughter for Christmas (we spent Thanksgiving together). Then I picked my chin up and pulled up the BGPs and started working on my next novel. I was writing a chapter about homeless war vets finding shelter during a hurricane. I looked out the window of my warm house and thought about all the homeless folks out there and wondered if they would all find shelter on this cold evening. Put things into perspective for me, and I realized that I am a very fortunate woman indeed. We’ve decided to volunteer for Christmas day wherever we’re needed. Happy holidays to you and yours, Staci.
I don’t know how this comment fell through the cracks, but I just saw it now. I think we all feel sorry for ourselves around the holidays for one reason or another. Holidays, as happy and jolly as the songs lead us to believe they are, can be sad. But you handled them beautifully, I think. Hope you had a wonderful holiday, P. C., and I hope everyone there is on the mend.
We had a very healing and quiet holiday, which was good for both of us. Despite the challenges of 2013, we still kept up our regular pace but sometimes we just need to slow down and stay in our jammies all day long watching movies and reading books. Hope yours were good as well.