(To read this, you must transport your mind back to late-November or early-December)
During this time of the year I have a struggle, a battle really, going on inside myself. It is a battle that will probably never be completely resolved between the cynical side, the ‘wanting to participate in that about which I am cynical’ side, the nostalgic side, and the optimistic side of me.
The cynical side of me was best expressed by a friend of mine. After noticing the shift in all the stores, catalogs and emails the day after Halloween she was inspired to observe in her Facebook status, “We went from ‘gimme gimme gimme candy’ at Halloween to ‘gimme gimme gimme presents’ at Christmas without pausing to offer thanks in between.” It seems we are supposed to be excited about “Black Friday” rather than Thanksgiving. Worse, in my mind, is that we have replaced the longing of Advent (I will say more about this longing next time) with the longing for stuff…stuff that is momentarily satisfying but certainly not fulfilling. Even Thanksgiving seems to have become the appetizer for Christmas. People just don’t get it!!!
Then there is that side of me that wants to participate in all that. I like giving and receiving presents. I walk by the Nintendo Wii at Wal-Mart and glance at the ‘new low price’ and think to myself, “How can I not buy it at that price?” Thanksgiving dinner is always so good and there is always so much of it! And of course, those football games don’t watch themselves so somebody has to do it. I get sucked into it all. I just don’t get it!!!
Then there is the nostalgic side. I have so many wonderful memories of family Thanksgivings and Christmases past. There was one year that I counted down to Christmas beginning sometime in mid-January. I even cry at the coffee commercials…I mean something seems to get in my eye at the very same moment those coffee commercials (you know the ones) come on. I love the traditions, the families, the friends, the warmth in the middle of the cold weather, children’s programs, hot cocoa and Christmas cookies. And I get goosebumps every year when Linus recites the Christmas story (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKk9rv2hUfA).
Finally, there is my optimistic side. This is the side for which I cheer. I really want this side to win, because without it the battle would simply sap all of my energy. The things I notice give me hope along the way as the other three sides go at each other. I notice that people are using their daily Facebook status updates to tell others why they are thankful. I notice that people are coming together to prepare the Community Thanksgiving Dinner. I notice a moment when somebody ‘gets it’. I notice the bells of the Salvation Army ringers calling us to remember the poor in all of our overabundance. I hear the call of the prophets in worship and remember that, while the world aches, it does not do so in vain. God is faithful! God desires all of creation to flourish. Even when we don’t get it, when I don’t get it God knows the deepest longings of creation and will meet us all in those aches.
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