Well, the magi have arrived at the crib with their famous gifts. Our Christmas trees are still up in church (and in the Vicarage, although its days are numbered) and we are very much still in the Christmas season. And yet, the turning of the year always brings about feelings of looking forward and making changes.
I don’t know if you make New Year’s resolutions or not. They always seem popular, but I’ve seen an increasing trend against them this year. I’ve seen lots of people talking about how the middle of winter is a time for rest. Nature is largely dormant: plants are resting, some animals hibernate, everything is quiet and conserving energy for the spring to come. It’s a very different way to talk about a new year, when so much of the chat is usually about diets, exercise regimes, and making new habits and giving up old ones. It perhaps encourages us to rest awhile, to recover from all the Christmas activity, and to dwell a little in the incredible story we have just lived though. Christmas isn’t over yet. We are still living with an infant Christ, visitors to the crib, and the gifts of wonder and love.
We have a quieter few weeks ahead, but, as always, we’re still here! Towards the and of the month and into February, we start to pick up the pace again, with details of everything below.
However you have started your new year, we pray it will be a blessed one.
With love and prayers,
Mthr Alice
