“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”

― Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Don’t pluck too many blackberries this Advent, or this one precious life. At some point, awaken to the fiery presence of God in everything around you, hidden yet always outpouring, always warming, always enfolding, always sustaining, always loving, always forgiving. And when you see the fire, take off your shoes.

Wake up, wake up, wake up, Advent tells us.

You’re almost home.