'Tis the Season

Thanksgiving is over and now the retailers have told us it’s time to begin celebrating Christmas in earnest by shopping and spending money in their stores. Actually, now they are starting in October. If that sounds a little cynical, well it is. Each year when Advent begins I have a hard time getting into the spirit of things because of the increasing commercialization of the season that’s everywhere. It’s inescapable.

In the middle ages, Christmas was considered a holy day that was celebrated as the Christ Mass, and a special feast was enjoyed with gifts of food from the gentry to the serfs who worked their lands. It was a simple celebration of the coming of Christ into the world. It feels like we’ve lost sight of the simplicity of the season with crowding it with compulsory programs, special events, and pressured over spending.

This year, I’m going to do whatever I can to avoid the demands of the season that feel like they are not in keeping with the holy day that is coming. I want to capture the feeling of joy and peace in hope of the life that was gifted to us when Jesus was not yet a man carrying a cross; to know the babe in the manger born in lowly circumstances, and greet him with a humble heart.

I know others feel as I do and I sincerely hope that they will find what they seek as well. This year in the midst of tinsel and a Santa Claus in every shopping mall, I will see a crude stable and a young mother facing an unknown future with the child of promise in her arms. It’s my hope that the vision of this will lead me to a place of quiet, gentle celebration of his birth, so that as I gather with family the thought of it will keep all in proper perspective, and Christmas joy will be the natural outcome.

Every Good Gift

This weekend I am in Arkansas to play guitar for a wedding. This is something I have done multiple times over the years. I enjoy doing it for my family, though I battle nervousness. When I arrived at the rehearsal, I discovered that a string quartet was accompanying me. It was a delightful surprise. I’ve never had anything like this before and it will make a real difference with the music.

Life is like that. We go along doing what is familiar to us and suddenly there is a delightful surprise from God. It always amazes me when God’s gifts arrive unannounced. In the midst of the mundane, something special happens. Sometimes it’s the answer to a prayer that comes in a form we were not expecting. And sometimes, it’s simply because he delights in us.

Scripture says that every good gift comes from above. His blessings are given not because we’ve done something to earn extra points. They come because of his grace and love for us. He takes joy in our joy, pleasure in ours. There simply doesn’t have to be any reason for it. In the same way human parents bring home surprises for a child, so God does for us.

I consider the string quartet a surprise from God. It’s for the pleasure of the attendees, yes, but it’s a surprising blessing for me. I am delighting in the experience and will treasure it in the years to come because it’s something that will most likely never happen again. And I am grateful for it. I thank God for such an experience.

We should go about our daily routines, and do those things God has called us to do. There is joy in the journey. But know that when you least expect it, God will give a surprising gift of love. May your joy be great and may your hearts be overflowing with gratitude for those good gifts from above.

Getting Back Up Again

My husband is in the next room practicing playing his mandolin. It was rather rough when he started out, but through constant and diligent practice he has improved much and can play some fairly difficult pieces now.

A lot of things in life are like that. We first begin to walk and fall over and hit the floor. We begin trying to talk and it comes out gibberish. But by diligently trying over and over, we eventually walk and talk. I can think back to many firsts in my life and the effort it took to get to that point. Even my writing has improved over time in an effort to put my thoughts on paper.

My spiritual life is filled with efforts and failures with successes thrown in. It seems, though, that the failures out number the victories, which is probably true. But gradually, the failures are giving way to accomplishments. Slowly the tide is turning in my life. It is by the grace of God that this is happening. I have tripped up more times than I can possibly count, but God has been there to help me up and let me try again.

The real issue in all this, is do I try to get back up after falling. I will admit that there have been times when I simply laid there and didn’t get up. I gave up, and God will not force us to get up; he waits on us. Was I cut off? No. I simply moved to other areas where I needed to learn how to live as Christ. So what happens when we don’t get up? There is a cost in that we cannot exhibit Christ-like qualities in those areas when life demands it of us. We grieve at our failure knowing it could have been different if we had just gotten up and tried again.

I have experienced this very thing and it was a hard lesson, hard by my own making. But in those occurrences, the grace of God was there. No chiding, no “I told you so,” just enduing hope in me that it was not too late to try again to get it right. God extending the hand of grace to help me knowing that this time he will be helping me stand again should I stumble once more.

I hope that I will not give up again when I need to get up and brush myself off. I hope I have learned the lesson. I don’t want to look back and see where life could have been different had I not given up. God is encouraging me, urging me on to something better. He’s there ready to help me back onto my feet, to move forward in becoming like Christ, and that is worth the effort to succeed.