Where do you see the spark of the divine amidst the hum of daily life? Join me, Reverend Laura East, as I guide you through a Christmas reflection that might just reignite your awareness of God's constant presence. In this special holiday installment of Resilient Faith, brought to you with warmth from the Brentwood Presbyterian Church community, we unwrap the joy and hope that faith assures us, even when life whirls in disarray. Embrace the season with a heartwarming poem from Reverend Sarah Speed, "Everywhere and Always Right Here," which we've cherished during Advent and now in the celebration of Christmas Tide.
This episode is a tapestry of thoughtful musings, interwoven with the golden threads of God's love that show up in the simplest pleasures—pancake dinners, porch sittings, and the laughter shared with friends. As I share insights and personal stories, I invite you to become part of the conversation and contribute your own lines to this living poem. Reflect on where you've felt God's touch in your own experiences, and together, let's acknowledge the profound beauty of recognizing the sacred in our everyday lives. Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast for more enriching discussions on nurturing a resilient faith through all seasons.
Welcome to Resilient Faith, the podcast. Opportunities to find deeper resilience within ourselves can come when life seems most challenging. This podcast is to help you develop that resilience and connection with God. Being resilient and having power starts with faith. Welcome, friends, to our Resilient Faith podcast. God bless you and thank you for being with us today.
Speaker 1:
I am Reverend Laura East, the Associate Pastor at Brentwood Presbyterian Church. On behalf of myself and the entire BPC community, we want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. During this blessed Christmas tide, in the midst of the chaos of our world, it remains so important that we are able to find joy in God's love and God's mercy, that we are able to share in the joy of God's presence with us, the birth of Jesus Christ in our world. We really remain grounded and rooted in the promises of faith and hope and love that sustain us during dark times. I wanted to bless us today with a poem by a colleague of mine. Her name is Reverend Sarah Speed and we have been using her poetry this season, this Advent season and into Christmas Tide. She provides poetry for a worship resource collaborative called A Sanctified Art, and this is a poem that she wrote for Christmas Tide. I explained in last podcast episode about Advent being the four Sundays that lead up to Christmas Christmas Eve, christmas Day, and then, of course, we are in Christmas Tide for 12 days until January 6th when we are in Epiphany. So here is a poem for Christmas Tide, the season that we are in of Christmas, of celebrating this newborn King who has come into the world. We are in a season of celebration that God is dwelling with us. So the title of this poem is Everywhere and Always Right here. That's where God is, in the sun that turns our bedroom gold. In the creeks of this old house and in birthday candles on the cake. In clean sheets, sock feet and porch sitting. In pancakes for breakfast and pancakes for dinner. In the swell of a lit candle, in fireplace conversations, in your grandmother's carrot cake and the smell of evergreen. God is in the seed starters on the porch and the space between my bones, in garlic butter, early mornings and twinkle lights, certainly in dancing and laughing in cups of coffee, in the art hung on the fridge, snail mail, long phone calls and, oh, how I love yous. God is right here. God pulled up a seat. God has traveled all the way to the heart. Tell the next generation so beloveds.
Speaker 1:
I do pose this question for us as we celebrate Christmas tide when are you seeing God in your life today or in this season of Christmas? What is your example? If you were to add a line to this poem of where you are seeing God, what would be your addition? I certainly hope and pray that you will be seeing God in things, large and small, and friends or family, or friends who are family. Sometimes it's the smallest things in our lives that make the biggest difference. So, friends, I hope and pray that you are feeling God's presence with you Right here, right now. May it be so, amen. Make sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and thanks for listening.