148 | Wednesday Coffee || Episode 8
WEDNESDAY COFFEE Episode 8 || The Longest Night
Today is the winter solstice. In the northern hemisphere it marks the longest night of the year. I used to wish this day away, eager to escape the perpetual darkness and return to the season of lengthening daylight; but now I savor it. It feels quiet, cocooned, holy. I recognize the dark as a place for healing and growth, a place where God abides.
For years when I was serving @incarnationmn, I led the annual Blue Christmas service. We would gather in the candlelit sanctuary and honor the facets of our lives that were grief-laden, that didn’t quite fit among the festivities but shaped our experience of Advent and Christmas. We named them, entrusting them to God With Us, Immanuel, as we waited in hope.
Every few years I would share the poem “First Coming” by Madeleine L’Engle, words that haven’t lost their power for me over 20+ years of ministry, words that capture the character and love of God made known in the incarnation, in the Word Made Flesh.
As you listen to this poem, notice . . .
🌱 What word or phrase speaks to you today?
🌱 What does this poem teach us about who God is and what God values?
🌱 What gives you hope?
Wednesday Coffee is a time dedicated to equipping you to be well amid life’s persistent disruptions. It includes some teaching, some reflection, and always a blessing for you at the end.
