Happy New Year

It's hard to mind a rainy day when So. California needs rain in the worst way.  The whole family is here, most of us staying at the B and B, Bissell House, on Orange Grove Blvd (thanks to the organization and generosity of our daughter-in-law Paula).  We all look forward to the big event, going to the Rose Parade, on Monday morning with the other million or so people who crowd into Pasadena for the Parade.  Today, we did a morning nostalgia tour to places Gramma lived when she was a girl growing up near here.  We visited Jean, my best friend, who still lives in San Marino.  The girls were entranced by her warm smile, the trampoline in her back yard and dishes of candy throughout her house.  We stopped in at Vroman's, the best book store in So. California, where all the family loved having leisurely time for browsing.  Then, in the rain, we walked to the Children's Play Space Paula had scoped out on the Internet, but it wasn't yet open.   So ever resourceful, she walked to the nearby Pasadena Playhouse and got tickets for she and the girls for Cinderella.  The rest of us walked on to a wonderful art show of California beaches at the Pasadena Museum of California Art.  Now, sitting by a cozy fire, sipping hot tea, I'm reflecting on the amazing blessing our family is and how important the gift of love is.  With love, no matter what else happens, one is very rich.  On this eve of 2017, I am wondering how I can keep a hopeful perspective.  I pray for us all to keep hope and love in our hearts, even as the New Year dawns not so bright with dark shadows of fear and hatred looming large.  

Surprise

In this time as Christmas draws near and the winter solstice has just passed, I love the light.  The long shadows and angled light give a different, very beautiful quality to dawn and dusk.  It surprises me every year.  That beauty inspires me to consider the meaning of Christmas.  It's not the perfect meal, the perfectly cleaned house or even the perfect gift.  Christmas is not about the perfection my ego wants, political power or any power of the world.  No, it is something more humble coming to life in my own heart.  Christmas comes in surprisingly quiet ways of tender love I feel for the child, for every vulnerable child, even for the vulnerable child that still lives within me.  Christmas is about love.  At Christmas as we touch the hope and peace and love within us, we bring it into the world.   May we be surprised by the Spirit of Christmas.  May it grow in our hard, struggling world where too many of us feel very vulnerable and afraid for the future.  

Christmas is near

Christmas draws near.  For me, preparation is an important part of Christmas.  There's always so much to do to get ready:  cleaning, shopping, baking, putting up the Christmas tree which is decorated with snowflakes and homemade polar bears this year and writing the Christmas cards.  Writing Christmas cards is a very old-fashioned practice.  Hardly anyone writes letters anymore, but at Christmastime the mailbox is still full.  When I write our cards, I reread the cards from last year and include a hand written note along with the printed news.  Then, sitting down with a cup of tea, I love to read the cards we receive.  There are many photo cards, funny cards, ones with beautiful nature scenes, and angels and nativity scenes.  But it is the hand-written notes that I love the best even though there is sad news occasionally.  This time of year, we fall back into the comfort of the old traditions.  It is wonderful to see the grandchildren growing to love the family church service on Christmas Eve where they participate in the story of Jesus' birth.  New memories are made and we remember those no longer in our quiet moments.  Christmas is coming!  This year once again, I will prepare my mind and heart for all the joy and chaos that lies ahead. This year we need the wisdom of us all and the joy of the children more than ever!  May God bless us all as we come together to celebrate Christmas.

Road Hazards

It was dark and rainy a couple of nights ago.  I was driving home along the mountainous winding road we often take.  I was going slow aware of the road conditions.  Coming into one of the hairpin turns,  the headlights were aiming straight off the the left, the dark road was curving sharply to the right when suddenly there was a big crash and the car started bumping along.  I had no idea what happened.  I stopped,  put on my hazard lights and Bob got out to investigate.  I'd hit a big (12" high) sharp rock that had fallen off the cliff into the road, probably just before I came along.  The tire was blown out, the right front part of the bumper was torn up and I was shaken.  I backed up and pulled into a flat area off the road.  After considering the options, Bob decided to change the tire in the rainy darkness with me holding the IPhone flashlight.  The tire changed, the damage inspected, we were able to drive slowly home.  I am grateful nothing worse happened, like careening off the cliff or hitting an on-coming car.   I am thinking how suddenly a hazard can appear and interrupt the smooth daily functioning of our lives.  I didn't even see the crash coming until BAM, the damage done.  The terrible Oakland Ghost Ship fire was like that.  Even though, folks knew the place wasn't safe, they were lulled into a false sense of security because nothing had happened in the past.  How often do warehouse fires happen?  These shocking reminders make me realize how fragile the lives we lead are, how anything can happen at any time.  It's a terrifying thought we can't hold in our minds.  On the dark road, I was very glad I wasn't alone and maybe it is the fact we aren't alone in this human enterprise that is our true consolation.  We are here to help each other out.  This time of year it is good to remember that.

Sent from my iPad

Waiting

It is the season of waiting and preparing.  We count off the days until Christmas, one by one, on Advent calendars.  We light  candles, one each week until all four candles on the Advent wreath shine bright.  We wait for the coming of the light, until we pass the winter solstice and the days begin to grow longer.  It is the season of waiting and preparing.  Maybe one of the benefits of living so many seasons is that I am at ease with waiting.  Waiting for Christmas,  I ponder, again this year, the meaning of Christmas.  Christmas isn't just "marzipan and legetog"  (candy and toys) as we heard a Danish minister preach many many years ago.  Christmas a holiday now co-opted by consumerism.  Besides shopping, Christmas brings family gatherings, great music, Christmas cards and for me the promise of spiritual richness.  But what am I waiting for spiritually?  I am waiting for the coming of a new fuller spirit of love, for peace in me, in my community, country and world and for enlightenment among peoples to bring justice to all the vulnerable.   Fat chance.  The whole world, not only the United States, seems to be in a time of not of generosity of spirit but of fear and meanness towards the weak and vulnerable.  Maybe Christmas is even more important this year.  I am thinking this year especially, we cannot just sit around and wait.  We must take responsibility to bring more love, more peace, more justice into the world.  What we need to do that is at hand, within us.  Christmas is a time to pay attention to the possibility of our own part in making the spirit of Christmas come alive in our hurting world.


Sent from my iPad