Monday, November 30, 2009

Simply Feeling Peaceful

It’s crept up on me again. That emotional, roller-coaster time of year when at one moment life is not only good, but vibrant, exciting, full of promise and – whoops, the next minute is here already and, hang on, I’m plunging down that mudbank of despair. All right, I hear you. Maybe I’m exaggerating a wee bit.

But aren’t the holidays something of a mixed blessing? I blame it all on the grocery stores. Where the Halloween candy sat yesterday, there sits on November 1 a display of canned pumpkin, cranberry sauce, mini marshmallows, nuts and spices. And my blood begins pumping. Not with thoughts of the Thanksgiving food, but everything that goes with it. The harvest decorations, (which for me are the ones I pulled out in late September and are now beginning to look a little tired – my gourds are moldy for goodness sake!), the travel plans, the step onto the holidays merry-go-round.

No, it’s not about the fixins’. It’s about the whole family event. My thoughts race forward to what this year will be like, older adults and the absence of children and grandchildren, and my emotions begin to plunge as I remember past beautiful and ideal Thanksgivings. Wait. We are a normal family – we had no perfect Thanksgivings! But jostling, crowded, table-bulging dinners with too many chairs at one table and children complaining about the lack of chocolate desserts – those we had.

Just indulge me one more quick personal note and you’ll be glad you did. Because, wow, do I have a holiday tip for you! All those lovely Thanksgiving pies and cakes? Our family eats those on Thanksgiving morning for breakfast with the Macy’s parade. C’mon you know you’re too full to really enjoy those after the big meal. And you’ll love them with a big fire in the morning. I know I’m too late this year, but you can remember it for the next.

Hop off the Thanksgiving tilt-a-whirl and get in this long line for the Christmas bone-jarring, brain-rattling roller coaster! Rinse out the last of the Tupperware that held those turkey leftovers because you’ve got only a few short weeks to sample this smorgasbord of ups and downs, this eat stress like candy, this try to catch the spirit of, this why do I hate this holiday I love thrill ride.

We go through it every year, don’t we? It looks like we’d learn. I think it’s because the season, the day, is so important we just want to get it right. We do want to pay tribute to the Savior whose birth we celebrate. But we also want to love our families and honor our friendships and show our appreciation to those we love. We just feel this deep sense of obligation while the child in us screams “Why can’t it be like it used to be! What about my fun?”

All that to say I have no answers for you. But I can reach out my hand and offer you the promise of peace – sweet, quiet, personal peace – in the midst of all the bell-ringing, cash register craziness. And that is no small gift. Don’t misunderstand. It’s not mine to offer. I’m just the messenger.

But imagine this – a small oasis, a sweet smile and an understanding heart that is eager to join yours when the lines get too long or the noise gets too jarring. Jesus is standing right next to you and He understands it all because He’s felt it all – the press of the crowds, the demanding voices, the rejection of family, the failure to please when you’ve offered the perfect gift. He feels your pain and He’s holding out His hand to relieve you of the burden.

Just take a deep breath and go there with Him to that place of quiet rest in the middle of the mall. Personal peace. You’ll still ride the emotional roller coaster. But you’ll ride it with a smile.

Isaiah 26:3; John 14:27
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A Porch Is Still a Porch




I wouldn’t even say anything. But it’s about the porch. And I feel like I owe it to you to report. The screens are down. New and improved? I hope so. We have waffled on this decision for some time. We didn’t want to give up the sounds of nature for comfort.

We’re told we will be able to use the porch year-round now, whereas the heat and the sun used to drive us in for about 8 hours a day, 5 months out of the year.

We haven’t spent an entire winter here yet. I’d love to be able to inform you that the snow and the cold drive us in as well. I’m praying for snow but the rest of the community, I believe, is praying the opposite. Time will tell. Regardless, the porch will be both cooled and heated.

I’ve had at least one friend here who groaned when I told her, “Will it still be Penny’s porch?” Oh yeah. Because as far as I’m concerned, a porch is all about attitude. The rockers will be there. And you’ll never hear me call it a sun room, Carolina room, spare room.

However, there will be glass, floor to ceiling. Big windows that I can open and still hear the rain, the wind and the birds. And that’s what it’s all about. We talked to several people and found the most open plan we could find.

So please continue to visit. Coffee maker still works and I have a rocker reserved for you. Y’all come!

Monday, November 16, 2009

God of Wonder

I was listening to the radio Saturday night while driving home and the lyrics caught my attention. “Your baby blues, so full of wonder….” (Plumb) which led, thought-progression-wise, to the upcoming Christmas season and that Gloria Estefan song about seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child.

And I felt a little wistful and nostalgic. Because the holidays were always such an exciting and fun time for me as a child. But I’m not taking you there. We’re going someplace else.

I know God’s desire for me is a childlike faith – complete trust, open-hearted love and a life lived with abandon for Him. I’ve also learned that He often answers my prayers in a positive way when the end result will be my deeper relationship with Him and a life lived to His glory.

So I prayed. I asked God to restore to me a sense of wonder. Not in a Disney, computer-animated, wow me kind of way. I want to see God’s creation, His awesomeness through the eyes of a child again.

In her book, “Awakening Your Sense of Wonder”, Janet Chester Bly says that “Wonder is the ability to be amazed or offer sincere respect or count some things as sacred. We grow in wonder when we…allow the attitude of awe and appreciation to rule, rather than skepticism and resentment. Wonder is a moment of enlightenment, a ‘graced moment’ when the humdrum tingles with excitement, when we’re faced with a scene straight out of heaven’s drama or tranquility.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of skepticism, cynicism and pessimism. I need the mind of a child! I want to be wowed all right, but by the small things that I would normally consider mundane. Listen to what Janet Bly goes on to say: “We’re so immersed in the gifts of the ordinary that we can’t see them. The rich jewels of our daily inheritance awaken in us no more wonder than the gold-and-antique-encrusted rooms of a fifty-room palace dazzle a spoiled prince. Appreciation and longing and gratefulness remain unborn until we lack something that we’ve taken for granted.”

So I prayed. I want to notice them now. I want to praise God for His good and perfect gifts this minute. I want to be aware of the world around me and be awed by it.

The next morning, I stood on my driveway waiting for a ride to church. My attention was drawn to a snail making its way across the cement. Its head was fully extended and I could see the shell rolling slightly from side to side as it lumbered forward. I was mesmerized. And my mind began to think of all those creatures that God has given homes and protection on their backs. And how different each one is. I was stopped dead in my thoughts and AWED by the fact that God is indeed awakening a sense of wonder in me again. All I had to do was ask!

Mark 10:14-16
When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.