Just a few more days to Christmas, and I think I (Marsha) am finally feeling the pull of the season.
The turning point for me was last Sunday’s Christmas Performance, put on by the young children of Mt. Eden Worship Group. The play was loosely based on a book called “A Kiwi Christmas” and it tells the Biblical story from Luke transposed to New Zealand. The angel Gabriel was a fantail bird; God (there were two of them in this particular play) had bare feet; Mary & Joseph travelled to a woolshed in an uncomfortable wagon, and the shepherd (and his stuffed sheepdog) arrived on a trike. But the story is still the same. Incredible joy that God is with us.
That reassurance that the christmas story doesn’t change makes it easier to enjoy the dislocation that comes from having the longest day of the year 3 days before Christmas. I heard from a young adult friend that he never feels like it is the Christmas season until the strawberries are in season. Other folks have repeatedly pointed out the beauty of the pohutukawa tree — called the New Zealand Christmas Tree because of its bright red flowers in December.
I even got a chuckle out of going to Meeting for Worship in bare feet last Sunday and realizing I wasn’t the only one!
So, as I prepare for a Christmas Eve barbeque with Mt. Eden Friends, I wish all of you a blessed, holy Christmas season, no matter what the weather!
Green Edges 
What a delight! For me the season and the holiday are so intertwined that it’s hard – and fun – to imagine being barefoot for the Christmas play!
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As usual, Chapel Hill meeting will have its Candlelight service on Christmas Eve. The Green family has always been an important ingredient in that service for me, so I’ll be thinking of all of you and wishing you good health, good friends, good times and new adventures in 2018.
With love,
Bonnie
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