Here we are
again. Another year has swept us up, spun us around, and deposited us back into
the deepest darkness of winter.
This is the
season of rest. The aspen and piñon, dormant now after months of raucous
growth, know it. Hibernating animals, snug in their dens, know it. We modern
humans, though, tend to live life at full tilt, out of sync with the natural
rhythms. Yet incessant busyness leads to illness of body and spirit, for we,
too, need a time to be still.
As I sit to
write, snow falls outside my window. The wind that has plagued our mountain
community for days has calmed, at least for now. A hush has come to our valley, and
all is still.
This outer quiet
hushes me as well. I have been a whirlwind these past few weeks, but like the air
currents of our tiny town, my own frenetic pace has calmed. Like the earth
outside our door, I too am being blanketed. Peace falls upon me, and I find I
can trust once again that, at the deepest level, all is well.
I hear my husband
downstairs, puttering about the kitchen. The heater kicks on, fan humming
warmth into the morning~cool air of our home. The clock ticks beside me on the
nightstand of the guest room where I have come to write, stretched out on the
spare bed, back propped against pillows, a richly hued Pendleton blanket
covering me.
Amid such
soothing, my thoughts turn to the Winter Solstice…and to Christmas, the day
picked centuries ago to celebrate the birth of Christ whose actual date of
arrival on the planet is lost to history.
The longest
night of the year was this past Wednesday. The observant among us will notice
the sun beginning to rise and set a bit farther to the north each day, with its
arc reaching higher as it travels the sky. And though the cold deepens, the
daylight will last longer as the weeks go by.
What better
time to celebrate the birth of Jesus and his Light~filled message than when
light has just begun its increase in the outer world. Christ urges us to love
one another, to practice peace and forgiveness, to care for the least among us.
Yes, this is what Light’s return
would look like.
Today, as we
celebrate the birth of Jesus, may we each take a cue from the natural world and
be still for at least a few moments. And as winter’s hush falls upon us, may it
carry Christ’s message of love more deeply into our souls. May that message
take root there as never before, bursting forth with new shoots and blossoms~~in
ways we cannot yet imagine~~as we live that love into the future. And may a
deep and abiding peace come to us all. Amen.
Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice, and blessed whatever brings you back to joy!
Leia
