Christmas Eve musings

Not sure how much musing will actually go on, but it is Christmas Eve and I am actually sitting down to type up something similar to musings. Probably won't provoke too many thoughts - not even provoking my own thoughts at the moment. But it seems like I ought to at least say something...

Ought. There's a word that's been haunting me lately.

Not feeling much like Christmas today. Rain and miserably warm temperatures definitely part of that. Didn't help that my scheduled trip to heaven turned out less than ideal. To quote a wise man from the north, "My head looks like something Picasso painted." I know it's the day before Christmas and all, but did you not hear me when I said, "Please leave the front longer?" Too busy worried about getting to the myriad of Christmas Eve events planned for after work I guess. I know. Hair grows. There are far worse problems. But my hair has never been this short. Never. A friend of mine broke into laughter upon seeing me. I don't blame them. At least I'll bring a little joy to people's lives this Christmas.

A friend (not the one who laughed at me) has been feeling a bit blue this Christmas and asked how I fought the blues. And I realized I don't fight them. Takes too much energy and you end up feeling worse. Better to give in and become friends with them, take them down to the local pub and buy them a drink or invite them over to watch some sad movie or sit in the dark and listen to some melancholy music. Love your enemies, the Bible says and I find myself doing that, befriending the blues. Not sure it works for everyone, but it works for me (though I'm sure some would say it doesn't work so well...).

If it hasn't become obvious yet, been a fairly low-key Christmas break so far. Started off well - three Over the Rhine shows, a fairly clean house full of guests, good times spent with friends, Christmas tree finally up. Still, been struggling with my usual nemesis this time of year - to quote the poet, "The worst kind of lonely/Is alone in December." All the gatherings, the concerts, the parties, the services, reminded me how much my heart longs to share them with someone. Not to sell my friends short, which I probably am (and for that I'm sorry), but sometimes you long for a hand to hold, to make the darkness seem not so dark because their heart brightens the hidden parts of you.

Of course, I had a hand to hold last year during Christmas and I can't say it made it any brighter. Oh wait, I'm not allowed to talk about that. Moving on...

Christmas Eve service tonight at 11:00. Mom and dad talked about coming down, but with the gross weather, they decided to stay in Dayton. I don't blame them - I wouldn't have wanted to drive all the way here, either. I'm looking forward to being quiet for a bit, listening to the stillness of the night, trying to remember why it is we actually celebrate this season. Phyllis reminded us at the conference that this season is all about the Incarnation - God becoming man, entering into our world and thereby transforming it, showing us what we could become, what we were created for. Forget the stars and the angels and the shepherds and the myth of a silent night (seriously, it was noisy in and around that manger). God became flesh. God became us. Us, with our weaknesses and our selfishness and our tendency to forget what is truly important. And by doing so, He showed us what we could be, reminded us of what it means to be in the image of God. And we've been trying to live up to that for 2000 years. As well we should.

Enough for now. Not sure when I'll be back- been less than inspired lately. We'll see how it goes.
Æ

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Now playing: Prince - Another Lonely Christmas (12")
via FoxyTunes