By Jeannie Kendall

I was a woman on a mission. We had enjoyed some time on one of my very favourite places, Brownsea Island off the Dorset coast. We had not seen many red squirrels, one of the special treats there, but it was time to go and I was striding towards the dock to catch the boat. Suddenly, my husband tapped me on the shoulder. There, just by the wall we were passing, was a red squirrel, less than five feet away. It looked at me for a moment and I stood still, holding my breath. Then, sensing I was no threat, it continued to find, strip and eat a nut. It was one of those wonderful encounters with nature that stay with you, which I could so easily have missed in my rush to the next part of the day.

Advent is a time of waiting. I wonder how good you are at it? I am not very good at all. My brain, if not my body, is always rushing to the next task, the next day, the next anticipated pleasure or challenge. Yet to do that misses the joy of just being, taking time in the present moment which we have been gifted.

I wonder what Mary was like as she waited for the birth of Jesus? Were there moments of anxiety alongside the delight of seeing her body grow and feeling him move inside her? Was she able to simply be, to share a smile with Joseph, to talk with other mothers to be in the marketplace? Did she take moments of prayer, to quietly give her special son again into God’s hands?

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One of the things I try to do each day, to still my rushing mind and help me to be in the moment, is to simply sit and look out into the garden – if you don’t have one, looking out at the sky would work just as well. I breathe deeply and slowly. Preferably with a cup of tea! When with others, such as at meals, my phone goes away, and I try to eat slowly, to pause to look at them, to really be with them with all my concentration. I am particularly conscious of doing that with my grandchildren, to really gift them my presence, so that they know they are seen, really seen, and heard, which is a such an important part of loving those around us. But it could equally be giving that same gift to the person at the supermarket checkout or standing beside you in the bus queue. Simply being in the moment is something I want to get better at this Advent. How about you? Will you join me this season?

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