Living in the Moment but with Anticipation
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The sky was gray-silver, the air filled with mist; crossing the many bridges and the final causeway to Roanoke Island, there was no sky, no horizon, no sea around me, and with no summer traffic, silence. How like dormancy, I thought. You know it’s all still there, it’s coming back, but for now, this morning, it looks like the world is at restful peace, covered over with the gray quilt. For some of my friends in other places, their world is covered in a white duvet.
I thought it apropos that the Dormancy Workshop is held during Advent. How alike the dormant garden is to the season of Advent. We know it’s all in place; something will happen. For now, the garden is quiet, storing energy, ready to bring forth stunning surprises, when the time is right. It’s hard to stay in the moment, not forging ahead, missing the anticipation. For the gardener, it’s the time for hoarding seed catalogues, forging ahead with plans, and trying to contain the energy, the excitement, anticipating the beauty of the next season, while missing this lovely silver-gray, winter day. For Advent pilgrims, it’s hard to contain our excitement for Christmas, forging ahead with packages, wrapping, cookies, travel, while missing these lovely days of Scripture, the seed catalogue for Christians. This is the quiet time to anticipate, while remaining in the moment.
Dormancy isn’t complacency; it isn’t indifference. It’s a very important time for regeneration. And so is Advent.