Promise

Thanksgiving gives way to Advent...

And the Innkeeper knows her rooms will be filled;

They always are, so she puts fresh hay in the manger

And makes sure the quilt is by the door.

With Advent's dark nights and time of preparation almost over,

the Innkeeper waits by the side of the road for the

Promise to be fulfilled.

Joseph and Mary slip in by the side door.

The shepherds will soon come; they scan the horizon

For Star shine to begin pushing the dark into a corner.

In the old barn filled with hay, sheep, goats, and ducks,

Spiders spin webs across cracks in the barn walls,

Mary wraps the new baby in the patchwork quilt of remnants past,

And the manger is filled once more with the Promise of

Hope for all the pastures of the world.

Mary Evans Brown--2008

Lord, do not let me lose sight of Your Promise this Advent Season.

Show me how to prepare to receive Your Promise

and keep it fresh in my heart each day.