Cold and dark

Here on the cusp of Advent, I am having trouble getting into the season.Some friends suffered great losses during Hurricane Sandy. A dear friend has cancer. Another friend just lost an old, beloved dog. My husband is losing his job at the end of January.

Of course, it could always be worse -- this almost goes without saying. But I'm just not ready for the Christmas onslaught. A local radio station started playing 24/7 Christmas music on Thanksgiving Day (seriously). The local Starbucks assaulted my ears this morning with jazzy versions of holiday tunes. The shops ... well, forget the shops. The mall traffic is unceasing, the drivers are hostile, all in competition for that ol' Christmas cheer. I'm staying home.

But I am going to a women's quiet day this Saturday, at a local church. What I need is a quiet month, but this day will be a start. When I get home, I'll set up the Advent wreath -- I'm using votives this year, for a change. As our Advent introit proclaims, "One candle lights the way." We'll see.

Of course, the point of Advent, which I nearly always manage to miss, is to welcome Jesus into the middle of the mess our lives have become, to light that one candle in the wreckage. We're not doing so well, Jesus, but you're welcome here.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Just call me Grumpy

I went out into the cold this morning to bring in the newspaper, and got an unexpectedl treat. The sun was just coming up behind my neighbor's house, peeking around her garage in a pale blue sky crisscrossed by pink, fluffy ribbons of cloud. The landscape lay under a faint, optimistic, pinkish glow. I didn't care. I don't feel optimistic. It's hard living with a guy who lost a hundred pounds on Weight Watchers. There's nothing like a convert to make everyone uncomfortable. I have gotten tired of his lovingly pointing out to me that I'm obese. Not chubby. Not pleasingly plump. Obese. The "O" word. I come from a whole family of cheerfully obese people, thank you very much. They enjoyed life; they enjoyed food. They got diabetes in their 60s. They didn't enjoy that very much. So much for my argument. So here I am, day two of Weight Watchers, glaring balefully at my breakfast of 3 Rice Krispies and a tablespoon of fat-free milk. "I'm so
Read more

Summer blahs ...

OK, I'll admit it. I've been slacking. I know I should be blogging about spiritual matters, but the fact is, I'm tapped out. I really struggle to get through summer. Now, I know how silly that sounds! My dad suffered in the winter from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), but I don't think there's an equivalent diagnosis for those who find summer days tediously endless. But that describes me. I loathe heat and humidity, both of which we normally have in abundance here. I love the beach, but never seem to get there. I come home from work and sit on the porch in a funk, reading pulp fiction to pass the time. I don't think I'm depressed; I'm just not inspired. It's also true that the Church on the Pike cycles way back during this time of year. The Rector takes a long vacation; while he's gone, we either have supply priests, if they're available, or we do Morning Prayer. Small groups also tend to go on hiatus. The choir is having a rest. I had a
Read more

When life turns on a dime ...

Life is precarious. We all know this, but we often forget it until reminded. Yesterday morning, my colleague and good friend got a telephone call from his wife at her office, informing him that a neighbor had spotted flames at their house, and had called 911. He and his wife both raced home. Both their boys were safely at school, so that was not a worry. But the fire had apparently burned for nearly two hours without detection, so the house was pretty much a total loss. But the newspaper this morning captured the worst part: "House fire kills pet dog." Glacier the husky was in his crate when the fire erupted. He died from the intense smoke and heat. I refuse to picture this in my mind. The family is distraught, especially the two boys, aged 7 and 5. They can rebuild the house, and get more "stuff." But Glacier is gone forever. Or at least in this life. Dogs, like people, should grow old and die in their beds. No one deserves to go this way. I guess time and faith wi
Read more