The advent reflections James posted helped me prepare for Christmas and now my thoughts move the the birth of our baby due in March. I am left thinking thinking how do I prepare myself for this event. The practicalities seem to dominate, not least because we are having an extension built on the house, loosing the kitchen for a while, so the house is in chaos. In many ways this disorder provides me with impetus to find peace and solace, yet this is a place of refuge for me rather than a place to explore my feelings, to think how to prepare myself for the birth of our baby, or to confront my inner life and break up my fallow ground. To find the inner reserves to move from the chaos through the place of refuge towards the fallow ground, is a challenge that I will need all three months till March to confront.