Week 4 Advent into Christmas features special guest, Carolyn Whitehead, member of First Presbyterian Church of Jamestown NY, tells why her "aim is love" - in all things

A Poem for Advent: Week Four: Love stuck

The greatest of these four weeks of waiting is: love.

With all the hope waking, peace-making and joy breaking,
I need the glue of love to make this stick.
Please stick.

I don't want these gifts to disappear like grandma's frosted sugar cookies.

But in that case, at least they would be eaten, consumed, and used to empower the making of many snow angels, building of tall Lego towers, or playing marathon sessions of scrabble while sipping tea.

Please stay love, I don't want youto melt like snow drifts above 35 degrees....
be crumpled like old gift wrapping...
or abandoned on the curb like a used Christmas tree.

One candle for hope.
Two candles for peace. (Inhale/exhale)
Three candles for joy. J-O-Y.
Four candles for love. (Please stick, love, please stick.)

This Advent, I hope for peace and joy: emboldened - empowered and eternally stuck in our hearts by the power of love.

Love - stuck!

Light has grown. Four candles are lit. Illuminating the way with hope, peace, joy and the greatest: Love.

You are the superglue we need. 
Please, stick.

Copyright 2018 T.L. Eastman

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Rev. Tara Lamont Eastman is a pastor, podcaster and host of Holy Shenanigans since September of 2020. Eastman combines her love of ministry with her love of writing, music and visual arts. She is a graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary’s Theological Education for Emerging Ministry Program and the Youth and Theology Certificate Program at Princeton Seminary. She has served in various ministry and pastoral roles over the last thirty years in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and PCUSA (Presbyterian Church of America). She is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Warren Pennsylvania. She has presented workshops on the topics of faith and creativity at the Wild Goose Festival. She is a trainer for Soul Shop Suicide Prevention for Church Communities.