"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn't extinguish the light." John 1:5 Common English Bible

I grew up in a violent, alcoholic home. I remember dreading the holidays. More drinking. More fighting. My hand-made ornaments lying broken in the street as the tree was thrown out of the house. The literal darkening of the days was compounded by this other darkness. I think this was one of the reasons I needed the Advent season--the focus was on light.

As an adult looking back, I can see now how the Advent practices of the church I grew up in shaped my spirit with hopeful...