Advent Reflections

December 13th

“Clouds and thick darkness surround him…” Psalm 97:2

Baking has been a hobby all my life. I have decorated many cakes in the last 20 years. The most challenging cake I’ve ever completed was my nephew’s wedding cake. Making the cake and decorating it were not the problem, but getting the cake to the reception hall proved to be very interesting.
On the way to the restaurant where the reception was to be held the following day, I realized my headlights weren’t working. Darkness was falling quickly, and if you have ever driven the back roads of Pennsylvania you know headlights are a necessity. Unfortunately I had also forgotten my cell phone. That left one option- to walk up to a stranger’s house and ask to use their phone.
The people I met were kind and welcoming. They allowed me to use their phone and also invited me to wait in their home until Terry arrived.
A moment of panic turned into a chance to meet new people. Thank God my husband accompanied me to the restaurant. To get the cake into the room for the reception we had to descend a steep flight of stairs. The bottom tier of the cake was so large and heavy I wouldn’t have been able to lift it down myself. The blown out headlights were a blessing in disguise.
When I recall that God’s blessings don’t look that way at first, it encourages me. God often appears in clouds and darkness; he also appeared in the face of a baby lying in a dirty stable. May God help us all to see Him in the people we meet and through the circumstances we encounter this holiday season.