First Sunday of Advent

Sunday is the first day of Advent and as one who have decided to celebrate tradition I am amazed on how God speaks to my heart. First Sunday is usually the Sunday of Hope. The hope of His coming. Paula and I have been in a stage of, profound sadness, after the news of our friends leaving our family. For the last four days we have re-think our life and the time we spent with them. I go back and start to think every moment, and I start to martyrdom my mind: "If only I was, If only I said, If only I did". We haven't cried yet because we feel that if we do our hearts will brake in little pieces; but our soul has and by the end of this day we are feeling like we have cried a lot. I don't know if they realized how loved they are and how important they were for us, and if they really don't know it, then I ask myself what did I do?. The meditation for tomorrow from Henry Nouwen says, "in the midst of our Dark World we keep expecting loud and impressive events to convince us and others of God’s saving power…Our temptation is to be distracted by them…When we have no eyes for the small signs of God’s presence—the smile of a baby, the carefree play of a children, the words of encouragement and gesture of love offered by friends—we will always remain tempted to despair. The small child of Bethlehem, the unknown man of Nazareth, the rejected preacher, the naked man on the cross, he asks for our full attention. The work of our salvation takes place in the midst of a world that continues to shout, scream, and overwhelm us with its claims and promises. We welcome you, small child of Bethlehem, whose coming we await with quit attention. shield us from the shouts, the screams, the empty promises of the season, and encourage us to turn our hope to your coming. We know that the promise is hidden in the stable in Bethlehem and rooted in the offspring of Jesse; let us look for our salvation there. Amen."
A friend told me this morning, "Miguel you are not asking the right question, may be is not what did you do wrong? but what did you do right? My hope is that in the midst of their pain and uncertainty they can see the small signs of a smile, a care,a card, a phone call, the good moments we shared. May the hope of the poor condition of the stable feel our life with hope even in the midst of uncertain times.