”And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men”

These words were written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, on Christmas Day in 1863. They are the words of a man who suffered unspeakable loss and pain, and who felt the weight of this broken sphere, deeply. I resonate with his words, today especially.
Today, I didn’t feel like Advent. I didn’t feel like singing or remembering, or lighting the candles. I felt exhausted, and troubled. Stopping to grab something at a local grocery store tonight, felt like a great and difficult task. To be honest, I felt like the weight on my chest was so heavy, I needed to stop for a rest in the parking lot. Maybe you can relate. But this, dear reader, is the whole point of Advent.
I don’t have to carry the weight, and I can’t. The Perfect One, The Holy One, The Giver of All Good Things, came to do what I never could, for me. He did this, so I could have the PEACE that I shattered. Through Him, we can have the only real peace. And that peace reaches through despair, sickness, disease, pain, abandonment, loss, depression, and any other thing that vies for your mind.
That old hymn, so full of truth, ends with one of my favorite verses of all time;

“Then rang the bells more loud and deep God is not dead, nor does he sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail With peace on earth, good will to men”.

Praying for the truest peace, over you and your house.