I am sorry it has been so long since I have blogged. I have finished an intensive writing process for full ordination. In other words, my brain has been filled with words for the last three months and I had plenty of white paper I had to put them on. Now, it is time to get back to my creative side.
The ads on tv tell me it's Christmas. The radio is playing Christmas carols. I have even bought the presents. But it doesn't feel like Christmas. So, what is Christmas supposed to feel like? I am a visual person, so the image that keeps coming to my mind is a bright light in the darkness. I mean a really bright light that penetrates the deep black darkness. But, the darkness is still there. The darkness does not go away. But the light makes the darkness more bearable. That is what Christmas looks like to me, but what does it feel like?
The signs at the mall say Christmas is supposed to feel like joy. But, to me Christmas feels more like fulfillment. A woman came into my life recently, she needed pastoral care through a crisis, death is a constant and ever present reality for her. She is not concerned about Christmas gifts, those useless objects you unwrap, don't bring the feeling of Christmas to someone dealing with death. To her, Christmas is the peace she gets from studying God's Word, hearing the Christmas story. When she reads the Christmas story, she sees the light in the darkness. So what does Christmas feel like to me? It is sitting with her. It is being present for her. It is listening to her. At Christmas we don't want to deal with death, we like to focus on the birth of Christ, but the shadow of the cross is always present. Christmas feels like loving someone, and that can be done every day.
