The Having a baby in October has been a significant part of my Advent practice this year. 

YHWH brought peace through a baby. For those of us who are close enough to little babies and have not yet repressed our memories, this is entirely unexpected…ridiculous even. 

But we do repress these memories. 

Aside from cuteness, this, I think, is because babies bring with them a new normal. For such small people they wield much power. They completely alter any kind of normal and impose a new normal. But here we find ourselves (I use the plural pronoun loosely!): spending eight hours each day feeding the kid, getting no more than 5 hours of sleep at any time, learning how to care for a 5 and 2 year old while caring for the small one. 

This year the Coxen5 are trying to celebrate Christmastide––or the twelve days of Christmas which occur after Christmas. The season of Advent (the time leading up to Christmas) guides us in waiting for the coming of Christ. Christmastide guides us to normalize life with this baby. 

I'm thinking of Christmastide as a kind of maternity/paternity leave. Each year the church calendar gives us 12 days of FMLA . . .  


The baby has come! And now his tiny cries impose a new kind of normal. 

Are we willing to live into his interruptions and welcome the Kingdom where this baby is King?
   Whenever it comes near? Even if at 2 a.m.?
   Wherever it comes near? Even in places where we're busy doing something else?
   In whomever it comes near? Whether the significant or insignificant? 

Joy to the world,
The Lord has come!
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare him room
And heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world,
The Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains 
Repeat the sounding joy