Sneak Peek…

We’re excited to share with you some of Gwen’s reflections from the introduction to Comfort & Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent as part of our 12 Days of Christmas (in July) celebration!

One of my earliest holiday memories is of my family’s annual Christmas Day trip to Pennsylvania from our Virginia home in the Shenandoah Valley. Getting up early enough to open gifts before we set out down the interstate, we made the four-hour drive, arriving in time for the big Christmas dinner.

My grandparents were Amish, so in some ways the trip was a bit like traveling into another time. I was, in reality, sojourning to another culture. We started in the rural, southern countryside, where we were the only Stoltzfus in the phonebook, and arrived in a community where the same last name took up pages and pages.

As we passed through my grandparents’ door each year, we were greeted with kisses and handshakes all around the room. Women, in particular, were clothed differently, wearing cape dresses and coverings on their heads. My mother, sister, and I all wore dresses on that day to smooth the relational rough spots as these two cultures interacted within the same extended family.

Even though the interactions were sometimes complicated, one thing was certain—there was a place for everyone at my grandmother’s table. Sitting together to share a meal is deeply significant in Amish culture. In some traditions, when a person leaves the Amish community, as my father had done, they are no longer permitted to dine at the same table with their former community members. For my grandmother, divided card tables throughout the house would not do. Just one very long table. As the family grew, the long table moved to a basement room and became several long tables fully extended, connected one after the other and dressed in tablecloths, with china plates at every seat.

This specially prepared table and the generous meal enjoyed there is symbolic of the invitation God has extended to us and our communities. The table is long and there is space for each of us to sit down and join in the celebration. In this season of Advent, we prepare to participate in Christmas activities and we also celebrate the joyful reality of God’s presence on earth in Jesus—God with us. As you journey through Advent this year, our hope is that you will experience the same kind of warm welcome, beauty, and delight that I did when I entered the door of my grandparent’s house.

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Pre-order your copy today, and follow along for gifts and surprises as part of our 12 Days of Christmas (in July) celebration.