Happy Christmas Dear Reader,
The time with my Son Bezel yesterday was great. I am so very proud of the man he is. Part of our journey yesterday involved being
at a mall. This is my first such
experience since coming back to the South.
I was unprepared for the vast crowd at a massive shopping mall two days
before Christmas.
It struck me deeply how filled with tension the air was. The contrast to the quiet I have been living
felt like waves crashing against me over and over. The impact was just how much everyone needs
the truth of what Christmas is. I have
been asking where it is all month. This
has kept me from being drowned by the sorrow of things I treasure but do not
have. It has kept me focused on becoming
stronger in faith and in following more closely the one who really matters.
My situation is evolving and not as dire as it was even a
month ago. Even so, parts of my heart still
long for there to be peace in my family and in the world. I suppose the difference is that the pain and
longing are cloaked in hope instead of despair as they were in August.
Where are you Christmas?
You are in a memory recorded by Luke the Physician. It is a memory of a small town and a long
journey. In just a few hours it will be
Christmas morning on the far side of the world.
I am praying for those I love to have deep Christmas sleep tonight. I am hoping for Christmas dreams for
them. I am focused on Christ showing
himself to them in a beautiful new light that draws them further on their
journey toward him.
If I place my hope in anything but this birth and the things
that follow then my fears get great purchase and overtake my heart. Dear Reader I am going to have a quiet
Christmas and I will keep you in my prayers as I do so. I would love to hear how you made merry and
what blessings came your way.
Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem
– Sarah McLachlan
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary,
And, gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wond'ring love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heav'n.
No ear may hear his coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
O holy child of Bethlehem
Descend to us we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born in us today.
The Morning Stars together
The great glad tidings tell
Oh, come to us abide with us
Our Lord Immanuel
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer
who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home
owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
Support Page on
Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
This BLOG: http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/
Novels on Amazon
Web Page: www.aramisthorn.com
Bookings at aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
Posts
Our Christmasses are small and seem "traditionless" compared to the holidays of my youth. My son is deployed this year, but even when he is home we barely see him because he stays with his girlfriend and participates in traditions with her family and friends and then spends part of Christmas with his mom and that family. It makes me sad for our daughter because she has no cousins and few relatives. I have not enjoyed Christmas Eve services at our church for at least a decade. I feel like they somehow miss Christmas too-- mainly I think I don't like the music because it isn't like my warm childhood memories. It doesn't make a spiritual connection for me. Talking yesterday with my daughter i realized that we will understand our "traditions" when Abi goes off to college and returns home for the holidays- there are things she will want us to save to do with her because they "make" Christmas. All that said to say, this year, despite fatigue and battling the common cold, I am embracing each moment and savoring it because that is what will "be" Christmas in my daughter's memory.
ReplyDelete