Yearning for Light

 The Earth is yearning.

I can see it

     in the strings of lights,

     so many more this year

     dangling so much earlier.

I can hear it

     in the music of the season 

     playing before that November feast.

I have seen it

     in the Yuletide movies

     streaming in summer, and even spring.

 

We are yearning afar

     communally.

Yearning for calm,

     an end to fear

Yearning for excitement

     and wide-eyed joy

Yearning for warmth

     and presence too.

This year, this lonely year.

We yearn for more,

     A Light brighter

     than those dangling strands.

 

So let us go

     to that moment in time

     guided by starlight

     to a stable far

     deep in the night.

 

We go

     seeking to hold

     the intangible

          made tangible.

We go, you and I,

     and offer our hearts

          as manger,

     a place

     for the precious Child to lay.

 

We prepare the space

     the heart—the manger

Allowing our hearts

     to open

     and soften,

     making space

          for the Child

               that is the Christ.

 

A cry rings out: 

     Emmanuel!

Into the embrace of the warm manger

     the Blessed Mother

     places the Child.

 

Arise, what feelings

     as I cradle the divine Child.

Shall my heart be touched

     as his tiny hand reaches out?

 

In his tender gaze

     are offers divine:

          love

          peace

          joy

          hope

          comfort

          healing

          renewal

          wholeness.

 

I accept the gifts

     in the manger of my heart

and dare to realize

     the Light of the World

          is holding my heart.

 

Rebecca Ruiz, ignationspirituality.com accessed on December 8, 2022