Christmas time is here. We'll be drawing near. Oh, that we could always see such spirit through the year. They're putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace. I wish I had a river I could skate away on. When you're still waiting for the snow to fall, it doesn't really feel like Christmas at all. Through the years, we all will be together if the fates allow. But til then, we'll just have to muddle through somehow. I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.
A thrill of hope--the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Hail the heav'n born Prince of Peace, hail the Son of Righteousness. Light and life to all He brings, risen with healing in His wings. We see him come, and know him ours, who, with his sunshine and his showers, turns all the patient ground to flowers. Some children see Him dark as they, and ah! they love Him too. God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.
What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; yet what I can I give him: give my heart.
well, i'm not the biggest john mayer fan, but lately (today) i have been major diggin one of his songs.
i think i like it because i've been thinking about age. age is one of my fave topics to think about, probably because it's tied up in death and time and change--my other fave topics.
today, i watched the world from the dry side of a windshield splattered with rain, and i had one of those "everyone else on the planet accepts this as common knowledge except you" moments: i realized i'm not getting younger. i don't mean this in the typical way, which is a resentment or denial of aging--i mean that i'm on a track that only goes one direction. in other words, i realized i am moving steadily (can you believe how reliable time is!) towards the end of a unique experience (life), and every moment is a new territory that won't come round again. this is a revelation i can't share or even translate, but i'll try anyway because if i don't (and if you don't, in your own way), we'll understand each other less.
i was about to say that i'm in this stage of life where i always feel part lost and part found, but then i realized that is likely to be true for the rest of time unless and maybe even if i work really hard on my foundness.
that's what i think life is for: finding and being found. ('did i find you or did you find me?')
the point of the lost/found bit is that i sometimes wrongly think that circumstance will make me found (if only i was graduated or married or had a "real life" job or lived abroad or had a house with shelves to hold the things in those boxes that have my name sharpied on the side), and i guess other people think so too because they ask me often what i'm doing with my life as if waking up every day and trying to do better by God and my neighbor humans is not something big.
sister and i had a conversation about this the other day, and do you know why i love my sisters? they remind me that i'm a bird who's built for flying, no matter how much i like the ground. they remind me that it's one thing to be happy where you are and it's another thing to not even try to see somewhere new. now i have fresh dreams of being in the sky riding a steady gust, steady like time, riding like those birds suspended in mid-air with sails for wings.
so, a december toast to the places we're in and a pinky-swear-promise for the places we're going, where we'll honor the places we've been, long ago, and won't return.
check out this list of the top ten weirdest animals of 2010. NO WAY, right? reminds me of the line from the oceans movie: "down here it's like nature has given everything a try."
also, have you been listening to the president lately? consider it. here's what he was saying yesterday (interesting audio). i'm not going to weigh in here, but i can at least promote listening.
we walk into the library to study together, and next time i look over, chuch has this contraption set up. whipped it out of his backpack like it ain't no thing and he's mary poppins (who had that extendable bag waaay before hermione.)
this is only one of several reading stands chuch has created to help him study it up.
what a guy. next thing you know he'll be making wooden windows for cars. love chuch!
