Advent can be a time of some darkness. Mary might have felt that she was waiting in the dark for her child to be born, perhaps wondering who this child would become. The shepherds were watching their sheep in the dark on the night Jesus was born, and the wise men traveled in the darkness, watching the star.

In our own Advent this year, we too may feel some darkness. The days are indeed becoming shorter, the nights longer. The economic news seems dark at times. We may feel troubles, worries, or sorrows of our own or of those dear to us.

Recently one book and one poem have helped me hold onto God’s promises of light, love, strength and healing in dark times. The book is The Wisdom of Florence Scovel Shinn. The text is actually a compilation of four books Shinn wrote between 1925 and 1945. Shinn writes about affirmations, the necessity to speak aloud our hope and belief in good things coming from God. In her own time she helped people ‘speak the word’ for whatever dark, worrisome situation they were experiencing, and she wrote about the seemingly miraculous results which followed. Some of Shinn’s affirmations include:

"God’s ways are ingenious, God’s methods are sure. God’s ways will astound you." "I walk in the Light of the Christ and my fear giants dwindle into nothingness. There is nothing to oppose my good." "I do not limit the Holy One of Israel, in word, thought or deed. With God all things are easy and possible now." "I now stand aside and watch God work. It interests me to see how quickly and easily He brings the desires of my heart to pass." "Before I called I was answered and I now gather in my harvest in a remarkable way." "He who watches over my heart’s desire ‘Neither slumbers nor sleeps.’" "Seeming impossible doors now open, seeming impossible channels are free, in the name of Jesus Christ."

I have actually printed and laminated a few of Shinn’s flood of affirmations and keep some on my kitchen table, some on my computer desk, some on my bedside table. Many of her affirmations are geared specifically towards the four things she believes God intends for each one of us – health, wealth, love and perfect self-expression.

The Women’s Advent Quiet Morning will deal with matching some of Shinn’s affirmations to the words of the angels and humans in the Advent stories in the Bible, then crafting affirmations for each woman present. Please consider coming to this quiet morning in the Parish House parlor on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, with lunch following.

The poem which has helped me hope is Advent Longing, by Larry J. Peacock. In a recent time of worry I repeated to myself the poem’s last line, "I lean into the darkness. Expectant." The darkness lightened within me and brighter days followed. I will provide the entire poem, Advent Longing, at the end of this article.

May each of you expect wondrous things of our God this Advent, perhaps with the help of Larry Peacock and Florence Shinn.

Blessings,

Mary Ann Archer

ADVENT LONGING

By Larry J. Peacock

In the darkness of the season, in the silence of Mary’s womb,
  new life waits and grows.
  Hope is shaped in hidden places,
  on the edges, in the depths
  far from the blinding lights and deafening sounds of consumer
  frenzy.

In the darkness and silence of my own life,
  I wait, listening for the whisper of angel wings,
  longing for a genuine experience of mystery,
  hoping for a rekindling of joy and the establishment of peace.
  I lean into the darkness
  and silence.

Expectant.