Just Say Yes!

Connection shows up in the funniest places.  While in the checkout line at a local store late this week, I heard the cashier say to the woman ahead of me, “Oh, you have a birthday coming up soon.”  The woman responded with a good-humored quip about the downside of being a December baby—your birthday celebration often gets lost amidst the busyness of Christmas.  A December baby myself, I decided to speak up and join the banter.  Then the young woman behind me whose birthday was the very next day joined in.  Among the three of us we came up with about eight other relatives who were also born in December.  We parted wishing each other a warm, “Happy birthday!”  On the outside, we looked different.  Who knew that we shared a lifelong common experience!  God is always putting us into contact with the possibility of blessing.  To receive it, we have to be willing and open.  Yes, it takes a little courage to reach out.  Moving through and beyond our fear to make a connection with another child of God is a powerful spiritual practice.  When we do, the world grows brighter for fear and anxiety dissolve.  Advent, the anticipation of a deeper awakening to the Christ within us, invites us into the unknown, into the probability of blessing.  Just say yes!