Some Days Are Lived in a Snow Globe

Although this post is shared from my Christian perspective, I do believe that my experiences these days are universal.

My mind is all over that place. Shopping for gifts. Decorating. Planning. Seeing friends. Attending holiday programs. Sending cards. Observing Advent. Fighting depression. Figuring out which one on the strand is the dead lightbulb.

And then there is all the other stuff of living. Parenting. Working and sending paperwork to the almighty insurance companies. Fighting depression. Shopping. Cooking. Cleaning. Loving my spouse.

And blogging....There are some things I have been letting go.

Friday morning it was snowing.  It was a gentle snow, each snowflake small and light, seeming to float rather than fall. When the flakes finally reached the ground, they swirled, then scattered, then swirled again.  It was like watching constantly changing white dust patterns on the streets.

That snow was a visual of what my head has felt like all week. Scattered, swirling thoughts, never fully formed.

My head is in a snow globe.

Judging by the people I see around me, I think that visual is true for many of us. We are all walking around with snow globe heads. The holidays do a good job of mentally, emotionally, physically, or spiritually shaking us up.

As a Christian, I believe that God became fully human and lived among us.  That is an amazing thought. The more I am mindful of that thought, the more I am in awe of God.

So what do we do? We string lights and bake cookies and send cards. We display pretty Silent Night images to prettify the reality of a birth in a smelly animal shelter.

The birth of Jesus was a miracle. Over and beyond who he is and what he came to proclaim, it is rather amazing that he survived his infancy. He was born in an unsanitary barn. His family needed to escape for his life. I am certain his parents were lonely and heartsick, pushed to the margins of a ruthless society.

So what do we do? We fill our heads with so much clatter, that we forget that the world Jesus entered is our world. The message he came to share was our message.

It is obvious to me that my next step this season is to decrease my cynicism. It does not seem to be accomplishing much except to keep me swirling and swearing. How I am going to accomplish this is not as obvious.  I will keep you posted.