It's Enough

"Why can't people just give people presents when they need them?" "Why do they have to make a big deal doing it at Christmas time?" Quotes from my twenty-something daughter about two weeks ago when I asked her to make a Christmas list for her relatives to take a look at. I understood what she was talking about but didn't really think about it until she called a little while ago complaining at the chaos of shopping at a Toys R Us store for her soon- to- be born nephew. I smiled at her call because this morning, as I readied for my last official Christmas shopping trip, my racing mind came to a halt with the sound of "It's Enough." No, it was not a comment on how complete my list was, but a comment on trying to please all those who were on my 'Christmas List.'

Thinking of the perfect present, finding the perfect present, buying the perfect present, wrapping the perfect present , and triumphantly perfectly presenting the perfect gift to someone in a perfect Norman Rockwell setting, was not going to make my relationship with the recipient of my gift any more perfect. It's enough that I know them. It's enough that they are my family. It's enough that those friends on my list are special to me because of who they are to me twelve months of the year. It's enough. They are on my list because they are involved with my life and thus know me so well that they will not be fooled into thinking that I am the perfect family member or friend because of what I wrap for them. It's enough for them for me to be. It's enough that they know what I think about them and feel for them. Those true Norman Rockwell moments capture the simplicity of family and friends as they interact in each other's lives. It's the togetherness in the natural settings of lives with hugs and smiles, eye rolls and admonishments.

Did you ever have plan a celebration for someone who says, "Now, don't overdue it! It's enough that my family is all around me." I later thought that that is what I should have told my daughter, "Yes, people can give presents to each other 365 days a year." "Yes, no one should rush around like maniacs in the streets and the stores to 'celebrate' Christ's birth." But the imperfect actions of imperfect people trying to celebrate the birth of 'Perfection' in a way, is perfect?!

So, as I sit amidst several unsigned Christmas cards yet to be mailed, sale fliers to scan, packages to be wrapped, bills to be paid, unread newspapers and magazines to be glanced at, thank you notes to be written, I look up at the Christmas candles, Cd's, and decorations and think how Christmas is not suffocating nor inappropriate. Each Christmas season reminds me that I am a colorful thread woven between the Almighty and those I come into contact with throughout the year. A lot of tension is naturally produced in a seemingly eternal, emotional tug of war, but with every pull I am reminded that I part of something eternal. An imperfect part of a vast perfect kingdom.

And it's enough.

Following the Star

Although the Kings came from afar to arrive at the stable, I cannot really say how far away that 'nearby' field was from which the shepherds came to the manger. I mean, they were familiar with the terrain, did that make it a little more difficult to think that something miraculous was happening so near?

Let a little light from that Star illuminate my surroundings, and let my curiosity about what lays in that stable lure me to join the others. Let that light assure me that the rich, the poor, and those who seem very foreign, all will gather together to witness a new birth.

Little lights this Advent as of this writing?

---My husband and I stopped to eat at a local buffet after Christmas shopping. Returning to my booth with my plate, I saw three twenty-somethings quietly bowed in the adjacent booth. I could not help looking on with awe that they were so reverently thanking God for their meal in such a public place. "Good For Them!" I thought. "Truly the Reason for the Season!" Then I realized that they were reverently bowed over their cell phones, texting! I grinned, not at them, but at me for misinterpreting. I have kept my eye out for the times this Advent when I am more intent on what I am interested in rather than enjoying the company of those near me.

---I decorated the house last week in accordance with the Season. Ironically, the fact that I replaced our mantle clock with our manger scene has made me aware how much time I spend checking the time. Every time I glance up to see what time it is, I am reminded that maybe the manger should guide me more than the expectations of time? My husband has more than once made the comment, "I miss that clock." But, so far, neither one of us has moved the mantle clock back to its prominent position.

---My daughter is very pregnant right now and is due around the first of January. The excitement with which she and her husband are preparing for their son's arrival is a constant reminder of that Holy Night. The birth they are awaiting will certainly change their lives. I watch them prepare and am reminded that birth brings with it awesome responsibility. Be prepared for change when approaching that stable. But what great joy lies within!

Keep following that Star..............

Repeat !!

It has been an interesting Advent, to say the least. Although initially I found yuletide encouragement by reading an article, my steps have been hurried as of late by my interaction with those who walk by me (and sometimes with me!) on their own Advent journeys. In the past two days I have encountered a couple of friends who seemed slightly spent. Disheartened? Never! But, spent, all the same. Their faith in God always inspires me, but it was actually the fact that they were tired, that intrigued me. Being there for family, friends and their church while dealing with painful physical issues has to require a very special effort on their part. I tried to think of ways to help them out on their journey, but instead saw my own schedule looming in the background.

So as I went about my daily tasks, I grabbed a handful of Christmas Cd's to listen to while I worked. A couple of days ago I started out the season with the Christmas music from our local choir, which has always made me appreciate the fact that I was raised in a small church where I actually knew most of the people. I later selected a Michael Smith CD which reminded me of the many, many, Christian Cd's artists that have never failed to inspire me anytime of year. Then, with a grin, I picked up one of the WOW Christmas Cd's I have collected over the years, complete with rap tributes!! Muffling a gagging noise, I rocked on with the popular artists and their sincere attempt to 'own' the old mainstays of traditional music. (Not a lot of mention of the Christ child, but joyful warbling all the same.) So today I was ready for something that I did not think I could play while others were around. Ah! The Priests! Great voices, traditional music with varied interpretations!

A seasonal AH HA moment came upon me when I heard the Priests sing The Little Drummer Boy. I wanted to hear it again and again, but did not want to wander in and out to hit reverse. I suddenly realized that yesterday, without my glasses, I had hit the wrong button to what I thought would reverse and play again a favorite song on Michael Smith's Cd. Of course it took the fourth time hearing it play for me to realize that I had not pressed the intended button. I did not even know that there was even a repeat button on my Cd player! So I now intentionally pushed 'Repeat' and listened to the Priest's wonderful rendition of the Drummer Boy over and over. I thought of my friends and realized that I did not need to think of anything 'new' to do for them either. I remembered what actually brought us into each others lives in the first place. We actually knew each other because our paths had crossed as we followed the Star that led us to the manger. We eventually stood together at a simple stable and shared the wonderment of how something so simple and pure could fixate both Kings and Shepherds.

So, to help my friends this Advent season, all I have to do is actually hit 'Repeat'? Prayers, smiles, waves and hugs are the songs that can be simply repeated over and over and over and over and over. The simple tune that the Little Drummer Boy played for the greatest friend he would ever know, was enough. The Christ was his friend, and he played for Him what stirred his soul. The simple notes were enough.

So this Advent, to honor Him, I will play for them.

Do I hafta?

Sunday December 4, 2011 Today I must, can, outta, should, will put up the Christmas tree, decorate the house, write some Christmas cards,and make a list of presents to give to those I usually give gifts to. Yet, as I watch the overly commercialized season unwrap, the only real twinkling lights that flash in my mind spell out: DO I HAFTA?

No one has ever accused me of being Martha Stewart. I once wrote a little blurb in our church newsletter about how not worrying about 'getting things done' at Christmas actually enriched my holiday rather than frustrated my Yuletide experience. Nice try Karen. Not going to work this time. Sighing my 'way-to familiar' sigh, I knew I needed motivation from a different angle (angel?) this year. I was once given and really enjoyed the book, "Skipping Christmas". Even though I got the message then, I felt I still needed a fresh pep talk this year. As usual, the Spirit did not disappoint!"

The December issue of Catholic Digest had an article "What my Jewish students taught me about Christmas." that is now nudging me through this holiday. The author viewed the Christmas season as a laundry list of empty chores that only kept her from her usual daily routine. She would either disappoint others if she neglected Christmas or would disappoint herself if she made a mockery of what was supposed to be a season of faith and commitment. Then one day her class discussed a story about Eleizer, a young boy in a concentration camp who had witnessed the hanging of a boy younger than he. Eliezer quit believing in God and refused to pray on Yom Kippur, the way he used to. "I was alone--terribly alone in a world without God. I stood amid that praying congregation, observing it like a stranger." The kids discussed whether or not he should have prayed anyway, or if it was hypocritical to do so.

One child replied, "No, The Torah tells you to follow God's rituals even when they make no sense. It's called, 'Na'aseh V' Nishma'--We will act and we will understand. First you do the acts, then you'll understand God. If Eliezer had observed the holiday, he might have recovered some faith." (Well) you also have to read the Torah to understand the symbolism of the acts and think about it."

The teacher went home, pulled out the Christmas lights and decorated her ficus tree with the traditional little white lights. Then she went and pulled out her Bible and started to read. "With each task during the holiday season, she continued to read the Old Testament filled with characters who were 'flawed and floundered in their faith--just like me, yet, chosen'."

On Christmas Eve, she sat down and read "God's final promise to the Jewish people: 'See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the LORD you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come.'"

She wrote that the Lord did come at Christmas Eve mass. Everything that the angels saw, she saw. Her final words in the article were: "I gazed through the window at the dark cloudless night, the countless winking stars, Na'aseh V'Nishma. I had acted and, finally, I understood."

So, todayI started to quietly pull out the cards from the cupboard, the decorations from the closet, and the gift list from my memory. As each act of decorating must be accompanied by an attempt to understand those acts, I left a commentary on Isaiah, and several Christmas magazine issues near my chair. Acting and trying to understand the whys of those actions will take me to the manger with more awe than ever?

Yes, this time I smiled at those twinkling lights that spell out , " I HAFTA!!"