It is the fourth day after Christmas. On this early morning, my mountains are covered with fog, and life beyond my window is grey and still. I’ve made my tea and am enjoying the glow from my Christmas tree and cozy candles around the room. The hurry and scurry of the holidays is slowing down, and I find blessing in quiet time with my thoughts and the sweet Spirit of my God.
I find in moments like this, there is nothing but peace and beauty and hope so kind the joyful tears easily come. And I bring to this sacred space, all those precious ones who have touched my life with love. There are so many! God connects me to the most amazing people who may not realize it or even believe it… but who minister to me in marvelous ways. Grand gestures of love are wonderful, but those small, tender, everyday gestures are what heal us and comfort us and keep us going forward. These are the true gifts of Christmas happening in every season.
God has made my heart an open one where people feel safe to share the burdens they carry. They sift through their thoughts and feelings and pour out the dark shadows that bury their joy. They sometimes hold my hand. They sometimes speak in ways that cloak what they really want to say, but daily they come to me seeking some solace. There is mending in words spoken aloud to a trustworthy companion who honors those words. There is grace in the encounters where the honest truth that tears at us is recognized. We were not born to live lonely or alone. We were born to lean into the purest love, the deepest possibilities, and the warmest kinships all close at hand.
And as we lean in, as we grapple with the hard spaces and celebrate the glorious ones, we learn to love life and each other more. We learn that life is an ongoing web of ebb and flow, holding close and letting go, and that there is a steadfastness in these comings and goings. Those who confide in me are teaching me this lesson. I witness their falls, but then I witness their risings. I hold them in their tears, then dance with them in their laughter. Life brings us to our knees and skins our tender skin time and again. Yet, we heal, we sing, and we go on to tend the one beside us who has yet to mend.
Today, I stand between Christmas and the New Year. It seems every year at this time, I swim around in memories of the past while the sparkle of Christmas remains close. My family and friends and all those sacred acquaintances step forward, and I am compelled to pray for them, to celebrate them, and to hope for them. I wish so much I could create something beautiful that would surround them with holiness and bind them to the God of love. I wish so much I could encircle them with the sacred trust that they are made in the image of Love and that Love lives like a warm ember inside of them. I want to be the soft fabric created by God that wraps the brokenhearted in comfort and renewal. I want my wishes to ignite the wishes of those who feel they have lost theirs. I wish I could place my hands on the hearts of the burdened and set them free.
Of course, I am a simple woman who recognizes her own limits and who understands that we are all called to find our own way. But in my beautiful, human simplicity on this ordinary morning in December, I am giving my life to God again, so that my heart may be in tune to yours. Let’s walk together soon as the fog lifts and as our songs arise.
I find in moments like this, there is nothing but peace and beauty and hope so kind the joyful tears easily come. And I bring to this sacred space, all those precious ones who have touched my life with love. There are so many! God connects me to the most amazing people who may not realize it or even believe it… but who minister to me in marvelous ways. Grand gestures of love are wonderful, but those small, tender, everyday gestures are what heal us and comfort us and keep us going forward. These are the true gifts of Christmas happening in every season.
God has made my heart an open one where people feel safe to share the burdens they carry. They sift through their thoughts and feelings and pour out the dark shadows that bury their joy. They sometimes hold my hand. They sometimes speak in ways that cloak what they really want to say, but daily they come to me seeking some solace. There is mending in words spoken aloud to a trustworthy companion who honors those words. There is grace in the encounters where the honest truth that tears at us is recognized. We were not born to live lonely or alone. We were born to lean into the purest love, the deepest possibilities, and the warmest kinships all close at hand.
And as we lean in, as we grapple with the hard spaces and celebrate the glorious ones, we learn to love life and each other more. We learn that life is an ongoing web of ebb and flow, holding close and letting go, and that there is a steadfastness in these comings and goings. Those who confide in me are teaching me this lesson. I witness their falls, but then I witness their risings. I hold them in their tears, then dance with them in their laughter. Life brings us to our knees and skins our tender skin time and again. Yet, we heal, we sing, and we go on to tend the one beside us who has yet to mend.
Today, I stand between Christmas and the New Year. It seems every year at this time, I swim around in memories of the past while the sparkle of Christmas remains close. My family and friends and all those sacred acquaintances step forward, and I am compelled to pray for them, to celebrate them, and to hope for them. I wish so much I could create something beautiful that would surround them with holiness and bind them to the God of love. I wish so much I could encircle them with the sacred trust that they are made in the image of Love and that Love lives like a warm ember inside of them. I want to be the soft fabric created by God that wraps the brokenhearted in comfort and renewal. I want my wishes to ignite the wishes of those who feel they have lost theirs. I wish I could place my hands on the hearts of the burdened and set them free.
Of course, I am a simple woman who recognizes her own limits and who understands that we are all called to find our own way. But in my beautiful, human simplicity on this ordinary morning in December, I am giving my life to God again, so that my heart may be in tune to yours. Let’s walk together soon as the fog lifts and as our songs arise.
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