on the way...with windows and trees

It seemed a strange time to hear the thought that caused us to stop, be still, listen, and think.  A group of pilgrim disciples, including two from Stepping Stone, were working to build and furnish a new home for a family who lost all their material goods on April 27, 2011.  The thought spoken seemed a bit odd on a rather balmy October 7; but moments later, workers smiled, paused, commented.

You see, the thought may have seemed unusual wearing short sleeves and work gloves, but it was also full of promise when you're standing in a front yard swept bare by a massive tornado.  Suddenly, hope made an appearance and floated across, through and around the gathering.  Filled with the fragrance and appeal of new construction, hope captured us as a willing and active audience, blessing us with the promise of all that is yet to come.

"I wonder where they'll put the Christmas tree--probably there, in the front window."  The thought spoke hope into life again and suddenly, the eyes of our hearts looked forward to Christmas morning future.  The Wednesday after Easter brought devastation.  But on the Christmas after, thirteen family members will gather in the space beyond the front window praising God for life together, celebrating life together, with the emphasis on God's grace and protection during a storm of unbelievable proportions. 

I'm grateful for our shared experience of labor with hope.  But it's now October 8 and I'm focused on construction and furnishings for a different house, a new space for a new church.  And the thought comes once more:  "I wonder where we'll put the Christmas tree--probably there, near the hearth."  I don't know where the thought came from or where the first tree will go.  But I know where Stepping Stone is going:  filled with hope, we're going toward Christmas morning future when people of faith will gather for celebration of the Christ child's birth, with celebration of life together.

This year, in the year of terrific storms, the first Sunday of Advent is November 27, 2011.  Advent is that time when we anticipate and prepare for Jesus' birth.  Depending on your tradition, hope or prophecy provide the theme for that Lord's day.  For Stepping Stone, it's both:  a prophetic fulfillment of a hopeful journey that begins God's 'new thing'--a church as vibrant, as fresh, as alive...as our first tree!  

At Advent and Christmas and every day after, let Stepping Stone praise God and think once again of windows and trees.  Let us remember and be thankful for the time when...

 Filled with the fragrance and appeal of new construction, hope captured us as a willing and active audience, blessing us with the promise of all that is yet to come.