The Soul Matters Guide for December asks what it means to be people of expectation. But rather than expect the expected, the guide invites us to pray for our expectations to be turned on their heads. “Are you willing to let go of expectation and be led by the unknown?”

In this month of holiday expectation, when we anticipate the coming of light, celebrate the blessing of the oil in the temple, and remember the birth of a precious child, might we open ourselves to expecting unexpected grace? Join me in welcoming the unexpected turns of life and the mysterious grace that can open us to magic and miracle, to life and love.