Winter arrived at the farm with rain on December 22 but today the sun is peeking out behind the clouds.  It's December 24 and our waiting and watching for Christmas is nearly over.  Children wait expectantly for Santa while parents and grandparents scramble to fulfill their lists.  This Advent, I tried to scramble less.  Each week, I attended St. Luke's for their Advent Series entitled, "Watch for the Light."  The purpose was to give the participants a chance to step off the treadmill and reflect on the themes of the season and end with a quiet prayer.  I found the readings, the conversations and the quiet prayers helpful.  Did I scramble less?  Some days I did.    In our modern times, Christmas is a mixture of many symbols from the winter solstice of evergreens, to tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol, to our current image of Santa which springs from a Coca-Cola ad.  Is that when we began to "shop till we drop"?  Probably not but still we tend to become consumed with what still needs to be done.  As we recall the words of tiny Tim, "God Bless us everyone;"  let's also remember that Christmas is about the Child who lies at the heart of it all.  And, his mother names him Jesus.    Till next time.....Charla Devine