A voice cries out in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord!
In every life there is a vast wilderness. Lately, I feel like I am trudging through mine not really sure where the next step takes me. I used to think that a sense of alienation was what one felt in adolescence. Odd to experience that sensation in your fifties. With Thanksgiving right behind me I realize that my life is so blessed and I am grateful for all that has been given to me without condition. Yet, yesterday while I was at lunch with a friend I was bemoaning how much our society has changed in that it seems many people have no time for what I call "familial sentimentality" - the treasuring of family traditions and culture. I grew up in a home that treasured the small ordinary moments of day to day. I grew up knowing without question that I was loved and treasured - that holidays, birthdays were made special by our homemade celebrations. There was never much money but there was always plenty of time and love - for making cookies, for night time car rides to view the Christmas lights around the town, for caroling in the car - usually off key, for reverently unpacking treasured holiday decorations for the tree. How I wish I could give all of this as a gift to my family this year! As I decorate my home and bring out some of the same Christmas mementos, I find myself longing for those times of closeness with family. Nowadays enjoying the togetherness of the holidays becomes difficult because of great distances between families - both geographical and emotional. And so I travel through my melancholic wilderness listening to the voice that cries out to me,"Prepare ye the way of the Lord". On this second Sunday let me experience Maranatha!
In every life there is a vast wilderness. Lately, I feel like I am trudging through mine not really sure where the next step takes me. I used to think that a sense of alienation was what one felt in adolescence. Odd to experience that sensation in your fifties. With Thanksgiving right behind me I realize that my life is so blessed and I am grateful for all that has been given to me without condition. Yet, yesterday while I was at lunch with a friend I was bemoaning how much our society has changed in that it seems many people have no time for what I call "familial sentimentality" - the treasuring of family traditions and culture. I grew up in a home that treasured the small ordinary moments of day to day. I grew up knowing without question that I was loved and treasured - that holidays, birthdays were made special by our homemade celebrations. There was never much money but there was always plenty of time and love - for making cookies, for night time car rides to view the Christmas lights around the town, for caroling in the car - usually off key, for reverently unpacking treasured holiday decorations for the tree. How I wish I could give all of this as a gift to my family this year! As I decorate my home and bring out some of the same Christmas mementos, I find myself longing for those times of closeness with family. Nowadays enjoying the togetherness of the holidays becomes difficult because of great distances between families - both geographical and emotional. And so I travel through my melancholic wilderness listening to the voice that cries out to me,"Prepare ye the way of the Lord". On this second Sunday let me experience Maranatha!
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