This Christmas eve, I went to church twice, once in the morning as usual, and once in the evening with my family. Interestingly enough, both sermons were about wonder, and not losing the wonder of Christmas. Interesting again, because Joanna had just finished commenting the past Friday night about how crazy and amazing Christmas is, and how it's really kind of crazy to believe in some of the things we believe in. God coming down and becoming flesh? Kind of weird and yet wonderful at the same time.
At this point, I knew that God was trying to get a point across to me, but I've been too tired and kind of emotionally disconnected lately. It just seemed like too much work to try and wrap my head around wonder, when I had a hard enough time wrapping my head around wrapping the presents and catching up with people who were in town and the fact that I had to go to work every day in the past few weeks except Christmas Day.
The other thing that has also been in the back of my mind lately is Advent and waiting for things. I've been really frustrated lately waiting for things. It seems like I have a desire for certain things and God's placed that desire in my heart for a long time, but it just isn't happening. I can try to make it happen or try not to make it happen, but it just doesn't happen. And so I work myself up over it. Or there are other things that I know God has called me to, but I just can't see how they are going to work out. And again I fret and get upset, because I know I should just be patient and pray about it, but getting tired of not seeing immediate results.
This morning though, God gave me little glimpses and little answers to some of the wonder and waiting issue. On my way to church, I heard a sermon from last week on the radio. When I watched the movie the nativity story, the part that really got me was the part about the shepherds. And this morning on the radio, they repeated the story from Luke, and the part about the shepherds got me again. There they were, minding their own business and the sheep, and the angel of the Lord came, and the glory of the Lord shown around them! And the angels brought them good tidings of great joy, that to them a Savior had been born, who is Christ the Lord! And then, to top it off, the angels had to tell the shepherds how to recognize him - you will find him wrapped in cloth, lying in a manger?! And at the end, the shepherds went through the village telling people about the amazing things they had seen and heard. Wow, what a wonder-full thing that had happened! Can you imagine? Being a shepherd and believing this crazy thing enough to go and see it, and then to tell others about it. What a wonder.
During the church service this morning, someone shared during the sharing time about how they had been looking for and praying for a building for a rescue mission in Scranton. Finally, after two years, it's purchased and open. In talking about the New Year, a guy said that we think about a New Year and what we would like to get done in the next year, etc... But God is infinite, and he's outside of time and thinks about time differently. So when we don't see the immediate fruits of our prayers, we get upset. But God is still working in that time. It's actually pretty amazing. Perhaps while we are being faithful, God is working in someone else's heart so that they will do what he has called them to do. Perhaps they are stalling, or aren't hearing God's voice. Yet the God of the universe, who could strong-arm them into doing what he wanted, waits patiently for them to hear his voice and respond. And only then, can all the pieces come together to bring to fruition the prayers of his people.
So I don't know what this means for the New Year. I don't know if it's going to make it any easier in those moments where I just wish God would hear my prayer and answer it. But it is reminding me to watch for the wonder of God working in my heart and mind and to treasure those "God-moments" where I can see his hand at work.
To Him be the glory, for ever and ever, amen.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Culture, politics, etc..
I have been thinking a lot about culture lately. I don't know why, I just have. Last night I saw a piece on illegal immigration in Colorado. It was interesting, because this one place in Colorado has a bunch of illegal immigrants, and they are willing to have the jobs no American wants to do, like construction work. I don't really like the immigration debate, because sometimes it gets too political for me. But the most interesting part of the story to me was when they interviewed a white woman with kids in the public school. They were talking about how this school does bilingual instruction for everyone, with part of the time in English and part in Spanish. This woman was happy that her kindergarten son knew some Spanish, but she felt uncomfortable about the future, because her son was in the minority. She basically said she didn't want him to lose his culture and was in essence worried about her son becoming more confortable with the Hispanic culture. How ironic! It's funny, because I would be excited to have my kids learn more about another culture! I think it's great to experience different points of view - makes you more aware of your own culture. And yet here she was, a white woman in the US, afraid because her son was in the minority. Interesting irony.
I was a minority growing up, and faced "reverse discrimination" at the tail end of the time my family was in Houston. Strange though, because as a kid I just saw everyone as people, as my neighbors. But they were black and I was white, and so there was a difference.
Today I had an interesting conversation with a Russian guy at work. He was talking about how he has a hard time in English because of all the articles like a, an and the. Apparently in Russian, there are no articles. Although everything has a gender. So I was telling him if he had a hard time with English, he should try Spanish! Not only are there articles, but you have to get the right masculine and feminine articles for everything! So then we were comparing the gender of various inanimate objects between Spanish and Russian. It would be interesting to do a complete word study and figure out the differences in the gender of inanimate objects between languages. There has to be an interesting reason why "table" is feminine in Spanish and masculine in Russian. Then again, maybe no one really cares.
On the way home from work, I was listening to the news on the radio. There was some quote by someone talking about Iraq. It's been said a million times before, but for some reason I actually heard it today. Whatever important "knowledgeable" source was talking on the subject of troops in Iraq. And they said "the Iraqis need to want to take over the security of their nation. They need to want to take control of their country and quell the sectarian violence. They need to step up and take initiative for securing their own country". Basically this would be so we could get out of there. Say WHAT? The Iraqis need to want to secure their country? As if they are sitting around sipping tea and coffee all day, oblivious to the fact that hundreds of people die each month. As if they are waiting for us to say - oh, you can take care of securing your country now, it's fine by us. What about the fact that we came in, bombed the **** out of their country a few years ago, they are faced with a new way of life and a new way of thinking, they don't know to trust and who not to trust (I'm talking about Iraqis), they fear for their daily safety, and that it's going to take TIME to accomplish all of this? True, I don't want any American troops to die. But I think it's arrogant for us to say - we came in, left your country in disarray, and now we want to walk away from it! Of course the Iraqis want to be able to run and secure their own country. But going back to culture, let's acknowledge that it's a matter of different cultures and there needs to be some room for that. Let's acknowledge that democracy is a new thought for these people, and it's going to take some time for that to sink in. Let's acknowledge that maybe our way of seeing things and doing things isn't always the only way of seeing things and doing things. And maybe we can learn more by being in the minority and being uncomfortable rather than trying to rearrange our lives so we are always surrounded by "our own kind". Maybe we can learn something from our differences.
I was a minority growing up, and faced "reverse discrimination" at the tail end of the time my family was in Houston. Strange though, because as a kid I just saw everyone as people, as my neighbors. But they were black and I was white, and so there was a difference.
Today I had an interesting conversation with a Russian guy at work. He was talking about how he has a hard time in English because of all the articles like a, an and the. Apparently in Russian, there are no articles. Although everything has a gender. So I was telling him if he had a hard time with English, he should try Spanish! Not only are there articles, but you have to get the right masculine and feminine articles for everything! So then we were comparing the gender of various inanimate objects between Spanish and Russian. It would be interesting to do a complete word study and figure out the differences in the gender of inanimate objects between languages. There has to be an interesting reason why "table" is feminine in Spanish and masculine in Russian. Then again, maybe no one really cares.
On the way home from work, I was listening to the news on the radio. There was some quote by someone talking about Iraq. It's been said a million times before, but for some reason I actually heard it today. Whatever important "knowledgeable" source was talking on the subject of troops in Iraq. And they said "the Iraqis need to want to take over the security of their nation. They need to want to take control of their country and quell the sectarian violence. They need to step up and take initiative for securing their own country". Basically this would be so we could get out of there. Say WHAT? The Iraqis need to want to secure their country? As if they are sitting around sipping tea and coffee all day, oblivious to the fact that hundreds of people die each month. As if they are waiting for us to say - oh, you can take care of securing your country now, it's fine by us. What about the fact that we came in, bombed the **** out of their country a few years ago, they are faced with a new way of life and a new way of thinking, they don't know to trust and who not to trust (I'm talking about Iraqis), they fear for their daily safety, and that it's going to take TIME to accomplish all of this? True, I don't want any American troops to die. But I think it's arrogant for us to say - we came in, left your country in disarray, and now we want to walk away from it! Of course the Iraqis want to be able to run and secure their own country. But going back to culture, let's acknowledge that it's a matter of different cultures and there needs to be some room for that. Let's acknowledge that democracy is a new thought for these people, and it's going to take some time for that to sink in. Let's acknowledge that maybe our way of seeing things and doing things isn't always the only way of seeing things and doing things. And maybe we can learn more by being in the minority and being uncomfortable rather than trying to rearrange our lives so we are always surrounded by "our own kind". Maybe we can learn something from our differences.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Moldy Nativities and other Christmas (mis)adventures
This past week, Joanna and I set out to decorate the tree and get into the Christmas spirit. Well, let me tell you, that was harder than it looked! Our adventures started Tuesday evening when we decided that after a week and a half of having the tree, we really should decorate it. So we scoured the house looking for decorations, which were deep in hiding from last year. Having finally found a box (or more accurately a suitcase) containing some of the decorations, I discovered that we had one set of lights, and the cross-stitch nativity my mom had made smelled like mold. You see, it had been stored in the basement, and this summer the basement was damp a lot and so now lots of things smell like mold that have been in the basement. So we forge ahead and decide that we should decorate the tree the following evening.
Well, little did we know how the evening was going to progress! Here's how it went:
1) we get home, it's been a long day for both of us.
2) we decide to go ahead and put lights on the tree
3) we discover that one strand of lights is not enough for our fat, 5-6' foot tree
4) we try to play Christmas music - my CD player won't recognize the CD
5) Joanna: did you get cranberries to string yet? Kelly: Um, did you get cranberries to string, because I haven't!
6) Joanna: For heaven's sake - this is pathetic! Let's just go to K-mart and Weis and get lights and cranberries!
7) Kelly: Sounds good to me! And while we're at it, we should get some good Riesling too.
8) K-mart - doesn't have white lights, much less anything smaller than about 700 lights or icicle nets
9) Weis - only has colored lights, and we can't find the cranberries. The barely out of high school customer service manager is a boy, and suggest that since they don't have fresh cranberries, we should try canned. (Boys!)
10) Having finally located the fresh cranberries, we decide on the low-cost alternative to Riesling, sparkling grape juice. Besides, it's a worknight, so drowning our Christmas cheer in grape juice is probably a safer bet.
11) We get home and string cranberries. Did I mention we have a FAT 5'-6' tree? Yup, one bag of cranberries isn't going to cut it.
12) We finally scrape up enough decorations for the tree and we're all set. Yay!
13) we decide to celebrate by breaking out our sparkling grape juice - hooray! And we promptly gag on the juice, which smells and tastes like it's been sitting in the hot, humid basement for months!
BAH HUMBUG!
So after all of our Christmas adventures, let's just say I wasn't feeling much in the spirit of Christmas. But then this week, God has been reminding me what Christmas is all about. Hearing all the Christmas music and having those songs in my head are great for focusing me back to the reason for the season. And we went to see the Nativity Story. And you know what? I bet that first nativity scene was pretty moldy and smelly. And their plans didn't go as planned, and I bet they weren't in the Christmas spirit looking for room in an inn and not finding any. And talk about humble circumstances without any decoration! But in that place, that tangled mess of broken lights and moldy nativities and dried up cranberries, God's plan shone through. And nothing could stop the Saviour from being born.
What Child Is This
Written by William Chatterton Dix
What child is this who laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring him laud
The babe, the son of Mary
Why lies he in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding
Good Christian fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading
So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh
Come peasant king to own Him
The King of kings, salvation brings
Let loving hearts enthrone Him
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring him laud
The babe, the son of Mary
Well, little did we know how the evening was going to progress! Here's how it went:
1) we get home, it's been a long day for both of us.
2) we decide to go ahead and put lights on the tree
3) we discover that one strand of lights is not enough for our fat, 5-6' foot tree
4) we try to play Christmas music - my CD player won't recognize the CD
5) Joanna: did you get cranberries to string yet? Kelly: Um, did you get cranberries to string, because I haven't!
6) Joanna: For heaven's sake - this is pathetic! Let's just go to K-mart and Weis and get lights and cranberries!
7) Kelly: Sounds good to me! And while we're at it, we should get some good Riesling too.
8) K-mart - doesn't have white lights, much less anything smaller than about 700 lights or icicle nets
9) Weis - only has colored lights, and we can't find the cranberries. The barely out of high school customer service manager is a boy, and suggest that since they don't have fresh cranberries, we should try canned. (Boys!)
10) Having finally located the fresh cranberries, we decide on the low-cost alternative to Riesling, sparkling grape juice. Besides, it's a worknight, so drowning our Christmas cheer in grape juice is probably a safer bet.
11) We get home and string cranberries. Did I mention we have a FAT 5'-6' tree? Yup, one bag of cranberries isn't going to cut it.
12) We finally scrape up enough decorations for the tree and we're all set. Yay!
13) we decide to celebrate by breaking out our sparkling grape juice - hooray! And we promptly gag on the juice, which smells and tastes like it's been sitting in the hot, humid basement for months!
BAH HUMBUG!
So after all of our Christmas adventures, let's just say I wasn't feeling much in the spirit of Christmas. But then this week, God has been reminding me what Christmas is all about. Hearing all the Christmas music and having those songs in my head are great for focusing me back to the reason for the season. And we went to see the Nativity Story. And you know what? I bet that first nativity scene was pretty moldy and smelly. And their plans didn't go as planned, and I bet they weren't in the Christmas spirit looking for room in an inn and not finding any. And talk about humble circumstances without any decoration! But in that place, that tangled mess of broken lights and moldy nativities and dried up cranberries, God's plan shone through. And nothing could stop the Saviour from being born.
What Child Is This
Written by William Chatterton Dix
What child is this who laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring him laud
The babe, the son of Mary
Why lies he in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding
Good Christian fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading
So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh
Come peasant king to own Him
The King of kings, salvation brings
Let loving hearts enthrone Him
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring him laud
The babe, the son of Mary
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)