Seeker

On this 6th day of Advent the #AdventWord2018 word is 'sprout'. I don't know about you, but 'sprout' makes me think about the sprouts that are a traditional vegetable at Christmas dinners in the UK. Sprouts are hated by some. I like them, especially when raw or nearly raw. Sprouts grow and reach their best at the coldest time of year and are best harvested after the first winter frosts. They provide a fresh green vegetable that can be grown without artificial heat and do not need to be imported into the UK. They sprout from hard stems in the cold winter. As such they could be seen as a sign of fresh new life. The image I've chosen to place at the head of this post is not the vegetable, as I hope you realise. The image is of a green plant sprouting in an unlikely place, shooting up through the hardness of asphalt. As I look at this image of new life, it reminds me of a reading from the Hebrew Bible that is often read at Advent and Christmas carol services...