Advent: Day…I’ve completely lost track

One reason that I rarely use social media for my blog is that I don’t like how it feels to come up with posts that resonate with people. You probably know what I’m talking about: the ones designed to get you to leave a comment or to share, often through sharing some statement (or truth, these days) that carries some emotional weight. It feels icky to add more of that to the mess of social media, and so I don’t (and hope that people will sign up to my newsletter instead…)

But I’ve realized that writing this little Advent series is getting perilously close to the same thing – needing to come up with things that sound wise or that people can relate to or will find profound. And finding that a bit fake and, again, icky.

All that to say, I may not have anything profound to say, but I am doing my best to get outdoors. Usually with the children, but this week has allowed for time outdoors, by myself, at the beach. The tides are high enough for swimming, the weather has been clear, bright, and frosty, and the times have worked out for me to head out on my own twice already.

Cold water swimming is definitely a fad, but hopefully one of the better ones, one in the Andy Crouch The Life We’re Looking For camp – it is very much a physical experience, and there is also a very friendly community around it. It’s not something you speed through – at least not me given how slowly I swim. It inspires a lot of gratitude: gratitude when the view is clear to the other side of the bay and I can see the Lake District fells, when the morning sun shines in between the buildings along the promenade, for a sense of peace and calm that is radically different from the beach in summertime. Gratitude for the Creator for His creation, because it is good.