Sometimes what I think are profound revelations turn out to be humorous stumbling safer I expose the experience or conversation to paper. Today’s stumbling is brought to you in part by irony, sponsored by the generosity of a reality check (check paid in full)!
It’s December as I write this. The intersection of Jesus’s birth and the world killing itself on Christmas preparation is already ironic. We attend candlelight services and step out of church to discover a tripped circuit breaker caused by holiday lights overload.
I could blow my own fuse box about Christmas commercialism if I light a path down that slippery slope. Back to my stumbling revelation, originating from a seventeen-year old’s comment when I worked at a high school. She had completed a late night of studying for her ACT test and I wished her well as she entered the classroom. She turned around and said, ‘Mrs. Eder, I reached a studying breaking point last night. I finally realized that no matter what score I get on this test, it won’t get me into heaven and it won’t get me out of heaven.”
In the ten years since this insightful student made that observation, I have shared her perspective with others and used it regularly as my own calming mantra when I slip into a frenzy of activity without traction. This morning, I stepped into a deeper layer of understanding her comment. Though I mostly gravitate toward intense simplicity and use minimalism to organize my priorities, I was allowing the holiday buzz and year end deadlines to dance with distress (the inner dance resembled hokey pokey more than a gliding waltz).
In looking at my assignments and appointments, blended with enjoyable activities, I reminded myself that these events will not get me into heaven or get me out of heaven. The approach I use to make choices about using my time matters. However, no matter how each day or calendar event is unveiled, I won’t get to heaven any quicker or any slower. There are hours that seem to evaporate. There are hours that seem to last days. Whatever rate time moves according to me, my arrival date and pace is according to my Creator.
The twenty-fifth of December and thirty-first of December are world markers. On my journey toward heaven, God uses different mile markers and speed limits. I sometimes miss His road signs and stumble into life’s ditches. I sometimes decorate the potholes of my day with store-bought lighting, fruitcake lies, and impersonating Santa Claus’s promising to bring everything on my wish list. God promises to provide what I need all year round.
How is my eternal house decorated for Christmas? I pause to realize my life will be brighter if I leave my house decorated all year round!
From a candle lit lily pad, Christina
Readers, it’s your turn! What “stumble upon revelations” have you been gifted with this Christmas season to keep the season’s message in light? Share in the comment section so we can learn and be inspired from each other.