Looking Back

Celebration of the New Year gives us the unique opportunity to reflect.  This marks the end of the first decade of the century.  We have experienced triumph and defeat, joy and sorrow, abundance and loss.  Our personal lives have been changed in ten years.  We are older and more experienced.  It would be appropriate if our reminiscence of the year and decade included the harm that we might have unintentionally or intentionally inflicted. It is impossible to think that we have lived without somehow damaging or offending others.  This is a good time to sort it all out.

Sometimes we leave damage in our wake despite the best intentions. People have feelings that are hurt because we were seemingling thoughtless or reckless.  We have done or failed to do things that have damaged relationships.  This creates a need for reconciliation by the making of amends. We must first admit our wrongdoing and apologize.  Then we proceed to set things right. We make ourselves vulnerable and  take down the walls that separate us by doing this. Finally, we pledge to refrain from the damaging behavior in the future.

The healing that springs forth from reconciliation is beyond our greatest expectations. We begin to live a life without regrets. Trust and harmony become the cornerstones of our relationships. We find ourselves as the benefactors and recipients of love and compassion. We build coalitions instead of seeking isolation. Diversity is no longer frightening. There is nothing that is so important that it should stand in the way of this miraculous process. What a terrific way to turn the new page of 2010.

The Christmas Fire

The Christmas Tree was very important to my family.  We had a longstanding tradition of finding the perfect tree back in the 1950's.  Of course almost everyone else was involved in the same quest.  Tree lots were combed from as early as the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Long needles, short needles, spruce and balsam were all considered.  The decision was made after lengthy discussions about which would hold the needles the longest and which best represented Christmas past.  The chosen tree was then hauled over to my uncle's Chrysler dealership to join the ones found by his family and by my grandparents.  Uncle Smitty loaded up his car painting system with snow fluff and we lightly flocked all three trees.

The arrival of the tree, usually tied and wrapped securely to the top of our Chrysler, was a moment of triumph for my Dad.  There it was.  Christmas splendor in our own house.  Decorations with special family significance, a cotton tree skirt, bubble and tinkle multicolor lights all were draped on the tree while eggnog and fudge were consumed by the fireplace.  Then, in 1960, something controversial happened.  Mother discovered the magnificent and elegant Aluminum Christmas Tree (complete with rotating color wheel).

I was never quite sure why my father relented to the interloping fake that began to grace our "sun room" that Christmas.  He gave it the most disturbing looks and glances.  Not quite a scowl but something akin to disgust.  Mom was oblivious.  She found the best tree money could buy at Marshall Fields in Chicago.  It could only be decorated with certain ornaments.  They were all red and very fashionable.  No lights were necessary.  The color wheel took care of that.  One moment it was green, then red, then blue and then a strange yellow gold.  All of the traditional stuff was packed away in deference to the new.  I had raely seen my mother so proud and happy.  It was certainly a decorator tree to show off to all of the family, friends and neighbors.

There developed a kind of tension between the tree and Dad over the next few years.  It was 1964 when all hell broke loose.   My buddy Steve and I were goofing around in the basement rec room.  The unhappiness that Dad was experiencing over the tree proved to be too much for Mom.  She gave way to his pleas and watched in horror as he brought down all of the old decorations and began to drape them on the aluminum tree.  The thing got loaded down with everything but popcorn garland.  She sat in a chair with a cocktail in defeat.  Dad's masterpiece was crowned by the cotton skirt.  Presents were crammed under the branches until the inevitable happened.  One spark from a light strand, through the aluminum, down the trunk and POOF.  All Steve and I heard was stomping and pounding.  By the time that we got upstairs the sun room was going up in flames and Dad was trying to put it out with his hands.  Quick thinking from two 14 year olds saved the day.  We formed a bucket brigade and put out the fire before the fire department got there.  We were instant heroes.  Dad and Mom went to the hospital to treat his burned hands.  I was trusted to be left alone and spend the night at my friend Gary's.

The aluminum tree melted that year and was never replaced.  No more fake trees for us.  It was back to flocked ones.  We moved to a bigger home the next year.  Dad spent many hours admiring his traditional tree.  Mom did get all new fancy ornaments anyway.  Everyone was happy.  Steve and I still like to put out all kinds of fires (usually, but not always, metaphorical).

The Coming of The Wonderful

The readings for this last Sunday of Advent are a confirmation of the abundance that we have been expecting.  The wonderful is already here.  It was created in our dreams and through our faith and expectations.  That for which we have been longing has arrived.

The excitement that is felt by Elizabeth and Mary as described by Luke in his gospel message is undeniable.  Their joy cannot be contained.  Mary's announcement is received even by the baby in her cousin's womb.  Deliverance is at hand.  Everything that was hoped for is present in the very room where they are gathered. 

The truth of this advent story is the fact of our own lives.  The most wonderful things happen when we give up the doubts and misgivings that we harbor.  Light shines in the darkness.  Day overcomes night.  Want gives way to abundance.  Christmas is coming.  Nothing will stop it.  Love each other, celebrate, dance and join the feast.

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is upon us.  It is the shortest day and the longest night.  The days light has become shorter and shorter since Midsummer and now seems to rise and set in the same place for several days.  For more than seven thousand years human beings have been marking this occasion as the birth of the sun and light.  Life begins anew at Christmas and Hanukkah.  The sun begins it's journey South and creation celebrates.

This is a time to remember the ever turning wheel of life.  Our journey is mixed with darkness and light, struggle and triumph, sadness and joy.  It will never be overcome with the dark but could not be appreciated without it.  We need to honor the presence of grace during both.  One of the ways to acknowledge this truth is to light a candle at the winter solstice.  Take a few minutes to reflect upon your life and its rich flavor of sweet and bitter spice.  Nothing stays forever.  We can be sure that the sun will make its journey back.  The daylight will lengthen.  Spring and Summer will return. 

"May peace and plenty be the first to lift the latch on your door and happiness be guided to your home by the candle of Christmas!" ~ An Irish Blessing

Advent and Overcoming

The Frauenkirche, Dresden

The spirit of optimism that anticipation offers can enable us to overcome obstacles that might have seemed overwhelming or impossible.  Advent teaches us that waiting in expectation of the wonderful will yeild miraculous results.  Patient waiting for promised salvation was given fruit on Christmas Day in Bethlehem.  People could not force its' early arrival.  It all happened when conditions were right.

One of the modern day examples of determined anticipation can be found in the meticulous rebuilding of a treasure destroyed by war.  The city of Dresden was firebombed by The Allies on February 13, 1945.  The East German Communist occupation of the next 45 years discouraged the rebuilding of the baroque Lutheran Church, The Frauenkirche, which had dominated the city skyline since its' completion in 1743.  Hopes and dreams, faith and determination overcame all obstacles.  The rebuilding began after the reunification of Germany in 1989 and was completed in 2004 on D-Day.  Tons of rubble and remnants were pieced together and fitted with the new.  Now the beautiful spiritual centerpiece of Dresden stands as a promise fulfilled.  Christmas traditions in the city are celebrated as in few other places.  The Striezelmarkt is the oldest Christmas market in Germany and turns 575 years old this year.  Dresden celebrated by contructing the world's largest usable Christmas arch on November 26, 2009.  The red roof tiles and rustic construction of the area are a testimony of patience and determination. 

Advent and Christmas are alive and vibrant where destruction and despondence once resided.  This is the season of the promise of the wonderful.  Just wait.  It is coming.

Noticing Advent

The Season of Advent is a celebration of the small things. We live in a world in which our focus is on the big, the conspicuous and the newsworthy. The noisy and gregarious grab our attention. Advent is a reminder that the miracles are all around us. We do not wait for some spectacular presentation from God. We take time to appreciate that which we have left un-noticed. We begin to understand that the smallest things are usually the most important representations of hope. What seems to be bigger and better might not actually be so important and are usually just temporary.

It has been demonstrated time and again that God uses the little and insignificant to prove that there are no limits to our lives. There is always the expectation of the wonderful. Advent is a time to not only pay attention to the incredible amount of goodness everywhere, but to expect the announcement of miracles. Watch and listen. We are surrounded by them. The faith in this truth is the foundation of Advent. The longing that we have for deliverance and freedom from want is already answered. Light always overcomes darkness. All that we must do is find a candle.

Waiting For The Wonderful

The period of time before Christmas, known as Advent, is a time of patience, expectation and anticipation.  My life-long best friend calls it "waiting for the wonderful".  The practice of waiting for the wonderful creates an atmosphere of childlike joy in people.  Seasonal music and poems like The Night Before Christmas reminisce about visions of hope and miracles. Decorations and festive gatherings remind us that something extraordinary is coming. We know that abundance, happiness, friends and family are just around the corner. Our waiting takes on a joy of its’ own.

Our eager expectations are always fulfilled if we remain hopeful and keep our eye on the possibilities. We should have learned that good things are coming. Patience toward the waiting, and eagerness for what lies in the future set up an entirely different manner of living. There is always a reason for optimism, hope and opportunity. The dynamic of positive expectation sets up a scenario in which we simply attract great things. Abundance begins to literally fall into our laps as it never did before. Advent is here right now. We can look forward to the realization of our dreams and the coming of our salvation. There is no reason that this should be limited to a seasonal celebration in December.  It is all about waiting for the wonderful.