Fall is my favorite season. Fall represents a time for reflection, renewal, birth and spiritual centeredness for me. When the leaves on our trees begin to change colors and fall, hibernation starts to settle in. I begin to reflect on the year that is about to end. All of my hopes, dreams and aspirations that may or may not have occurred; unforeseen blessings that did occur; family and friends that I’ve lost as well as new friends and family I have gained.

That is what the Advent Season is about. The continuum of Life and the celebration of God’s everlasting Grace. Hope remains Alive, even though there are tremendous messes that surround us.  Possibilities are still within reach.

I love the Christmas season. Christmas, not for the consumerism that surrounds us, but for the optimism our Savior’s birth represents. Christmas is “a new day, a new beginning”.

Whatever my life circumstances are during Christmas time, I am grateful that God rekindles my hopefulness. And most importantly, he is with me on each step I take on my spiritual journey for the coming year.

Brenda Walker