"For All Who Feel Like Nose-less Camels"

I have been waiting for the first day of Advent for so long. If I could have stepped into Advent last week or the week before or even a month before, I would have done just that. Even the "waiting" DURING Advent begins with "waiting" FOR Advent, doesn't it?

Sunday morning, I awoke hoping beyond hope that I would feel like the sweet and peace-filled angel standing near the 63-year-old manger at my mother’s house... oh, not the angel hovering precariously above, proclaiming the birth of the Christ-child, but the one standing so close that she might hear an infant's cry and see both the tears of a mother and the wonder on a father's face. Instead of feeling sweet and angelic, Sunday morning I felt a bit more like the nose-less camel found in Mom’s nativity, burdened by all that was placed on the camel's back (the other camels aren't bearing any noticeable loads and are resting ... what gives with that???). Where it is placed year after year, this particular camel never has a good view of the Holy Family. For some reason, the camel with no nose is the only camel that needs a handler.  I wonder why ... I wonder if there is restlessness within that one because life has wounded him a little.

So, during this first week of Advent, I will pray for all of those who feel a bit like nose-less camels on this journey to Bethlehem ... wounded, burdened, restless and in need of coming closer to see the Christ-child in a manger.