December 14th

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15

getting just the right tree
decorating it on the same day
placing each ornament in its special place
making cookies or bread or Yule logs—
heirlooms like these are what
carry this holy season from one year,
and one generation, to the next.
yet,
seeing the holy family
in refugees looking for a home
or immigrants forced to flee their countries.
listening to the stories
of the unskilled folks around us
who want to share the love
which they have just witnessed.
discovering that the wisest
among us just may be those
neuro-divergent folks taking
different roads than the ones
we have planned for them.
hearing the joy in the little kids
who sing too loud, off key,
or with words they made up
in the pageant or holiday show—
all seem to be traditions
we have little interest
in receiving or passing on.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

December 13th

“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:13

in these days which supposedly
are short, and it seems a sprint
to get everything done in time,
Jesus reminds us—
endurance is not a mad dash,
bit a slow, steady pace into grace.
so, may we learn to wait
not with clenched stomachs
and aching backs, but with
our hearts cracked like branches
on a winter tree in the yard,
trusting that even in the chill,
love still rises,
as we endure by simply
lighting candles as tiny resistance
to the shadows of cruelty,
working for hope in those places
where hope can find no open doors.
and so we will keep watch—
for every flicker of faith,
every footstep of mercy,
every flutter of goodness
as we wait for the One
who comes not for the winners,
but for the tenacious, the worn-out,
the ones who will not give up
on loving
on believing
on hoping
as we hold our hands out
in the shadows of life
and finding God’s hands
ready to grasp ours.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

December 12th

“For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Matthew 23:39

in the fellow
who goes out and buys
a tree for the widow next door
and then decorates it top to bottom,
we see the one who comes in
love.
in those folks
who place themselves
between their neighbors
and the ICE-cold hearts of cruelty,
we see the ones who come in
justice.
in families
who set aside their grief
and stand on street corners
witnessing for an end to gun violence,
we see the ones who come in
peace.
in the young people
who refuse to accept the notion
that nothing they do
might reverse climate change,
we see those who come in
hope.
even if, especially when,
we never pay attention,
you come to us,
again and again,
and we are blessed.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

December 11th

“For God alone my soul waits in silence,
     for my hope is from him.” Psalm 62:5

Advent seems like a long season
of dusk, as the world fidgets
while shadows grow long.
should we stay still,
we might notice, in the hush
between worry’s heartbeats,
you leaning close, reminding us
hope is not something we build,
but that gift falling gently
like snow on open hands.
as we try to learn
how to breathe again,
may we trust the light
slowly coming toward us,
cradling the fragile dawn
you shape each morning.
and in the stillness,
we discover you
making us new
in that holy space
left behind as our fears
drift away like chaff.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

December 10th

“The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted." Matthew 23:11-12

the shadows grow longer
than our patience in these shorter days,
but Jesus slips in, cupped hands holding a candle,
whispering that greatness
comes not in strident boasting
but in quiet kneeling with a towel and basin.
not in the bright lights of celebrity
but in the shadows, talking with
the rough sleepers in the wee hours.
this is the upside-down promise
Advent brings to us
that those left in the dust of power
we are to carry
to meet a tiny baby,
that the humble who ignore
the seat at the head table
will find their true place
in the straw-lined streets of Bethlehem.
hile others try to find
the tallest ladders of privilege,
may we walk past them,
taking those insignificant steps
toward the grieving,
toward the lonely,
toward the broken,
toward the feeding trough—
guided by the star of humility
lighting our way to life.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

December 9th

“Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
    righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
    and righteousness will look down from the sky.” Psalm 85:10-11

sometimes, they are like
young lovers, who cannot see
anyone else around them, as
every moment is taken up
in trying to discover every facet
of the other who attracts them so.
sometimes, they are like
those couples who have known
each other so long, and so well,
they can finish the sentences
the beloved starts.
sometimes, they are like
that pair of folks we see each day,
walking hand in hand, making
sure that the other does not fall,
those vows they spoke so long ago
shining through every white hair,
every wrinkle on the face, every
creak and crack in old bones.
but in every time,
they are the constants of our lives,
modeling the gift and the grace
and the grit of your peace and mercy,
your faithfulness and love,
which came in that thin season
of hope so long ago, and comes
once again, in the soft companionship
we need in these days.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman 

December 8th

“’Look! He is coming with the clouds;
   every eye will see him,’” Revelation 1:7a

we lie on our backs
gazing at the clouds,
hoping we can be the first
to catch a glimpse of you
starting your gentle glide to us,
but perhaps
we should be noticing
the person sitting on the steps
with the weather-worn and
stained-from-rejection military jacket,
hoping someone might buy
him a meal or a room for the night.
or watch the teenagers who refuse
to let the powerful use their mates
as scapegoats to justify their fears,
their prejudices, their self-righteous
piety which makes them faith superheroes.
we spend so much time
longing to see you as
a star falling out of the sky,
that we cannot see you
among us, even if you stuck out
your grace and tripped us.


© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman