*Five Minute Friday is an initiative set up by Lisa-Jo Baker over at Surprised by Motherhood. It has now been taken over by Kate over at Heading Home. The basic premise is to take the word Kate gives and write, non-stop for 5 minutes. Then you stop and post. Read more about it here. This October, I am taking part in a series based on this called “31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes”, in which we commit to writing from the prompt as usual, but everyday rather than just on a Friday. Read more here.
Whisper
GO
Here in the UK, it seems like it’s shouted in brightly coloured displays and loud lettering from as early as September. Green and red clamour for your attention, tinsel sparkles gregariously from every corner, fairy lights hang entangled from every hook.
Before autumn is even in full swing, the materialism and commercialism of Christmas is paraded for all to see. There’s no escaping it.
But if you listen carefully, the further along the year gets, you will hear a tiny whisper in amidst the hubbub. The faintest hint that something truly special is just around the corner. As Advent approaches, the whisper grows a little louder: “there is more than this”.
Because as fun as it is to get excited about mince pies and Christmas trees and presents (and I do!), it is easy to forget what Christmas is truly about. But as I await the birth of my own child, I cannot help but hear the whisper, even from within my womb: “there is more than this”.
Christmas can be exciting and enticing. But often the glamour wears thin when there is no real substance to it. When all it is is Santa and reindeer and presents and tinsel. It can feel superficial – like a beautifully wrapped box with nothing inside.
“There is more than this”.
There is Jesus. The Saviour child. The One who heals, who consoles, who saves, who serves, who loves. And He started as we all did – as a child.
It is just a whisper now, but slowly it will grow.
But perhaps we have to slow down, breathe deeply and open our ears and hearts to hear it above the din that is already in full swing.
Because there really is more than this…
STOP
