our watching time

And so our watching time begins,
time for watching and waiting, for looking and longing,
for dreaming and wishing.

It is our time for lighting candles and looking for stars,
for opening calendar windows and counting the nights.

It is our time for the story,
the ancient story that weaves into our winters
stitching mystery and hope and a pure-gold thread into our long dark evenings.

It is our time to gather around the yule log that’s burning in the grate
and listen for the shepherds knocking at the door.

Our watching time is our precious time,
to wait for the moment that we will gather
around the tiny baby and the exhausted mother
and bring our treasures and lay them at their feet.

It is our waiting time.
For the travellers to arrive,
and the birth to begin.

And so we watch.
For the singing in the skies and the change in the wind.
For the light through the winter fog and the pull in our souls

It is our watching time