Lawn Decorations

Early this morning I went to water the Christmas tree of some friends who are away.  As I drove down their street after leaving their house, I came to the intersection where, in the yard of one home, appeared to be every single inflatable holiday lawn decoration ever made.  Santa in a plane.  Santa in a helicopter (complete with spinning rotor).  Snoopy on his dog house.  Santa playing poker (North Pole hold 'em) with three of his reindeer.  It's quite possible there may have been a creche in there, but if there was, it wasn't given pride of place.

Of course, it's easy to criticize the other guy.  We should be asking, "Where are our creches?"  Where, for us, is the holy family -- with its hopes, its fears, its anxieties, its anticipation -- during this season of Advent?  Are we making room for the Christ child?  Or when he arrives will there be too much stuff taking up space?

What's on your spiritual lawn? What's on mine?  Advent is a good time, a sacred time, to think about this.

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