Be brave for my sake, dearest Maria, even if this letter is your only token of my love this Christmas-tide.  We shale both experience a few dark hours – why should we disguise that from each other?  We shall ponder the incomprehensibility of our lot and be assailed by the question of why, over and above the darkness already enshrouding humanity, we should be subjected to the bitter anguish of a separation whose purpose we fail to understand….And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God.  Our eyes are at fault, that is all.  God is in the manger, wealth in poverty  light in darkness, succor in abandonment.  No evil can befall us; whatever men may do to us, they cannot but sere the God who is secretly revealed as love and rules the world and our lives. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I don’t agree with this entire thing, theologically, but I find the idea that our eyes are at fault so true and beautiful.  It takes the right kind of vision to see God in the darkness, to have hope in the midst of despair.  Tomorrow I’ll be writing on  the first Advent candle, reminding us of Hope.

Every Monday in Advent, Emily Miller, Katie Axelson, Brenna D. and I all will be writing on the same topic, the candles of Advent and their myriad meanings, on our own blogs. We’ll also be hosting a link-up, so you can share your reflections on the season and where it finds you on this adventure to live the spiritual life, the Jesus life, be it an essay, a story, a poem, a song or a photo. (When you link up on one of our blogs, it will appear on all four.)  We might even be throwing in some guest posts here and there because, hey! almost-Christmas is a time of almost-excess!
Here’s our schedule, if you’re interested in linking up or contributing a guest post:

Week One: The Prophecy Candle — Hope
Week Two: The Bethlehem Candle — Love
Week Three: The Shepherds Candle — Joy
Week Four: The Angels Candle — Peace

Will you join us on this adventure? Visit our blogs tomorrow and link up as we reflect on the hope reflected by The Prophecy Candle!