Wednesday 12 December 2012

'Tis the Season!


Four of us were sitting around the table on Sunday evening, lamenting a little because of the Christmas “celebrations” to come. Not because of Christmas as such, but because of all the drama that usually accompanies the festive season – and if you’re not lucky enough to live in “Seventh Heaven”, you’ll know what I mean. Then someone mentioned that they have a friend, an outspoken atheist, who is more excited about Christmas and making it special than all of us combined. How strange…and yet not…

Christmas has become everyone’s special day, but for all the wrong reasons. For when almost all of us think about Christmas, we think about the logistics of the day and the gathering. We worry about what gifts to give, and we dreamingly anticipate what we might be receiving. On the day we might go to a Christmas service, or we might sing a few Christmas hymns and read the Nativity Story. But then it’s on with the busy rigmarole that Christmas has become.

Now, lots of churches have instated the celebration of Advent, with a candle being lit every Sunday of the month approaching Christmas. The whole service might even be centred on the theme that accompanies each of the four candles. But how much of that goes home with us? How much of that can be seen in our every day leading up to (and following) Christmas?

The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before. What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God's [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running, for rushing, for worrying, for pushing. For now: stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.” - Jan L. Richardson


How much of what Christmas has lost is because we - those of us who believe there is a reason for the season - have lost focus. Have lost the spirit of hopeful expectation. Have given up on celebrating the promise that Christmas is. And so, let us approach Christmas with an expectant hush, rather than a never-ending last-minute rush. In this will our witness be found. Will it change the way the world sees and celebrates Christmas? Little by little, it might. Will it change us? Without a doubt!

During this Advent season as we celebrate the new relationship between God and his people, may that be mirrored in our renewed relationships with spouses, children, family and those near and dear to us. May we speak tenderly to each other amidst all the rush of the season and transform the shopping days till Christmas into the true Advent of Christ.” - Casely Essamuah You keep us waiting. You, the God of all time, want us to wait. For the right time in which to discover whom we are, where we are to go, who will be with us, and what we must do. So thank you…for the waiting time." - John Bell

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Letting go


If you know me even a smidge, you will know that I LOVE reading. I cannot get enough of the process of discovering and learning new things. About anything and everything. Always. And, quite often on these reading expeditions, I “happen upon” the most profound of insights. Not always pleasant, but always meaningful. This week’s rambling is a combination of where those “nuggets” have taken me.

I was reading about the Foo Fighters – Dave Grohl specifically – the other night, and I discovered the most interesting thing. Even when he was “only” the drummer in Nirvana, he was already writing and recording songs. Songs he never even thought to take to Kurt Cobain as possibilities for the band, because Kurt Cobain was…well…Kurt Cobain – the icon for a generation; the best thing since sliced bread…no, maybe even better; a genius; the best voice writing exactly what everyone was thinking. Whether that is true is something that can be debated, but the fact remains that Dave Grohl was overawed enough that he did not pursue something he was passionate about. 

But then Kurt Cobain died tragically, and he was left with a choice: Do I remain a drummer and just join another band (the most logical, certainly expected, choice)? Or do I risk doing my own thing? He decided to take the risk, and the rest is legendary history – even if you’re not a fan of the Foo Fighters. It was so strange – surreal, in fact – to think that all the amazing songs, the anthems for life they have become for more than one generation, might never have come to be had it not been for the tragedy those many years ago. How strange life’s journey can be…how interesting the results of unfortunate events…

And then I saw this on Twitter: “Sometimes you need to say farewell to the company you keep in order to break free from the patterns you're in.” Even when that company might be the most amazing company according to you and to everyone around you, too. Because they might be the reason you are not living up to your full potential – whether they realise it or not. Now, sometimes you are spared the difficulty of having to make the hard choice to let go. It might not feel like it at the time…or ever, for that matter…but sometimes we are “forced” out of these relationships by conflict, rejection or death. It is terrible and often sad, but still you are “opened up” – your potential suddenly becomes something, has to become something more. And then I realised something even more saddening – that we – I – mostly wait until we are forced out of situations/relationships before we take action. Even in those cases where we know the relationship is holding us back.


The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” - Steve Maraboli Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.” - Ann Landers 

So let's start being thankful for those times that we didn't have to make the choice - even though it may have been painful experiences. And let's start showing true courage. We know the people and the relationships we need to move on from. Let's not wait any longer. That way we can recover and develop our true selves. And who knows what impact that might (will!) have on the world! "All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on." - Havelock Ellis