My son introduced me to one of his favorite writers some time ago, and I don’t think I’ve been quite the same since. It’s not too often I am reduced to tears as I ponder the words of another, but Frederick Buechner tends to be able to do that for me. As Advent begins today, the first Sunday in December, I would like to share a quote from this man, and hope it blesses you this Christmas season:
The house lights go off and the footlights come on. Even the chattiest stop chattering as they wait in darkness for the curtain to rise. In the orchestra pit, the violin bows are poised. The conductor has raised his baton. In the silence of a mid-winter dusk, there is far off in the deeps of it somewhere a sound so faint that for all you can tell it may be only the sound of the silence itself. You hold your breath to listen. You walk up the steps to the front door. The empty windows at either side of it tell you nothing, or almost nothing. For a second you catch a whiff of some fragrance that reminds you of a place you’ve never been and a time you have no words for. You are aware of the beating of your heart. The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment. – Frederick Buechner
Morven,
What wonderful imagery of the anticipation of Advent. Thank you for posting this!
Yup, it got to me too 😉
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing and introducing me to a new author.