An Island of Calm, a Trail of Evidence

in the midst of a Manic Wednesday?  Can this be?!! Shhh, don't say anything or the Happy Police will come and take me away.  I was supposed to leave in about 10 minutes to go to a presentation at our city office and am still sitting here, waiting for an important witness to call me back. Aarrgghh! And I've now called her three times! But it's nice, I've gotten some e-mails answered, had a conversation with the therapist for one client, and hope to get some more things done.  If I don't hear back by three, I'm  on the road - too much to do.

This time of year can be so frantic for many people - Christmas shopping (and knitting), cards, lines at the post office, emotional challenges - to say nothing of this year's added fun, like wondering if you're going to have a job the next time you arrive at work.  But a long time ago, back when we didn't really have the money to celebrate Christmas in that overstuffed American fashion, back when we felt lucky and stretched the budget to have a nice dinner and a few little gifts for our kids, I could see the meaning of Christmas with a greater clarity. It's as if the noise of the commercial holiday didn't drown it out because, well, I wasn't really participating.  

My "island of calm" this Christmas season is my church and, most importantly, the people in it. (OK, of course my family too!). Four nights a week and every Sunday, I'm lucky enough to participate in training (Monday) music and friendship (Tues and Thurs) and in-depth discussions (Wednesday - well, most of 'em) and liturgy (Sunday and on rare occasions, Thurs. morning) that bring the important intangibles into my mind and heart.  

I suppose I am a visual person.  What I see/experience registers with me.  And the way I see God is through other people and their response to Him/Her and the trail of evidence He/She leaves behind. 

Don't get me wrong, there are a multitude of problems in my church in particular - a number of people cannot deal with, for example, our openness to GLBT people and are leaving.  There will always be divisions between and among people - it's our nature, unfortunately.  And please, dear 2.5 readers, do not think  I expect or even want you to believe as I do.  That is too huge a question for anyone to answer for another person, how can one dare have such hubris? No, I'm just talking about my little corner of the spiritual universe and how it works for my life.

Nancy, one of the best friends I've ever had the joy of knowing, is inSANEly busy right now. Yet, she took time yesterday to suggest lunch before the season is out and organized a holiday get together in the narthex for the bell choir after practice last night.  I cannot even begin to outline the challenges this woman has faced in the last two or three months on her job, some of which have been alluded to in earlier posts. Yet she gets the job done and still thinks of her friends.

John has concerns in his life I cannot post about here.  Yet he will do things like getting me new tires and getting the light bulb fixed for my headlights without batting an eyelash.  He has  always been the driving force behind our family celebrations and in spite of all of his worries, he continues to be.

On the needles - still working on John's scarf and it should be done soon.  And Nancy's sweater -  who knows, LOL:) What else is new? Well, I'd better get going - have to get ready for a crazy day tomorrow.

Until then, God be with you 'til we meet again+