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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Finally, something about Christmas or a Post about Justin

     I have not had nearly as much time/energy/gumption to post as much about Christmas as I'd like which I guess just goes to show you can't control the nature of a blog anymore than you can control the nature of the weather or what that crazy Miley's going to do next. At least I can't.  


I suppose.  And yes, that was all one sentence...and probably minus a few commas.    


     Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with my friend Justin whom I have not seen in almost three years (yikes!)  


     I was nervous.  I don't know why.  I spread my napkin across my lap even though I had not really expressed an interest in eating and avoided eye contact for a good ten minutes. I also had roughly nine cups of coffee...which I'm sure didn't help.   


     I feel as if, when I met Tim, all the relationships I had with boys-who-are-just-friends scattered like overturned chess pieces.  Justin is one of the three or four that managed to land upright, and I am so very grateful for that.  


     And as for the others?  Well, its not anyone's fault, really.   Those lines are so hard to draw.  As a wife...a friend...a 20-something, you want to be hip and cool and fun. You don't want to come off as awkward (too late!) or old-fashioned or picky... but let's face it, especially in this day and age, no one else is going to protect your marriage for you.  


Which leads us to now.  


     Sitting across from him, I couldn't help but think about(and perhaps awkwardly point out) our differences.  Democrat (I think?)...Republican....work-at-home....9-5er...City....Country...and the list goes on.  At one point, I even compared us to Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth...and later invited him to a movie (which in hindsight was probably creepy.  I promise I won't shoot you in the middle of the film.  I will at least let you catch the end of it. Ha.)


    The world will tell  has told us that we should, in a sense, be enemies.  We are standing on two completely different sides of a long, unwavering line.  


Yet, one thing remained glaringly obvious...  


how much we still have in common.  


     You see, we are a world full of people who want to be understood.  We want to be accepted.  We want to be loved.  No amount of cornfields or train rides or speeches from politicians is going to change that.  


And now on to Christmas.  


     Recently, I was thinking about the wise men and the shepherds.  Which is pretty basic, I know.  I'm not going to get into the logistics of Christmas...dates and astronomy and speculations about geography and history and religion.  


Snoozefest.  


     I do believe that something special happened and that someone came to Jesus who represented The Poor, being the Shepherd, and that someone else came representing The Wealthy (The Wise men).  I think there is such value in that, and it's such a matter of perspective.  


     I think the Shepherds represent making sacrifices that aren't tangible...our time...our effort...our own personal agendas...while the wise men's sacrifices represent what we have to give that is valuable to the world.  


Complete opposites... different sides, same coin.  


And now back to Justin.  See how I did that?  (J, you can be one of the wise men.  Being from the country, I've kind of got a way with sheep.)  


     Yeah, it only took me nearly an hour of staring at a blank screen...not to mention the 6 days I had to actually sit on that in my brain.  Ha.  
     
     You know, I spent some time on a recent online blogging forum in which people expressed a general disdain for blogs that mention God/religion.  


     My heart ached just a bit, and I thought about the voice in my head that sometimes says, "Don't mention God/religion too much.  It will isolate people."  


Meh.  


     But I am proud to say that voice rarely wins.  


     This blog is sometimes about Jesus.  
     
     If that's not your bag then don't sweat it.  You are welcome here, and I hope you find something you like because I also tend to ramble about how much I love coffee and my dogs and cooking with my crock pot.    


For some, this season is about Religion and traditions and Jesus.  


(I hope) for all of us, this season is about finding love, peace, hope, and joy and I pray all those things will be evident for you this year.  


Love, 
H. 







3 comments:

Lauren Almdale said...

let me just tell you that i happen to enjoy blogs more when they mention Jesus. blogs are a way to connect to others who can relate to you. i want to attract other people that love Jesus too. i want community through blogging, not just a bunch of followers.

i understand the voice inside your head thing. i have to fight it a lot. then i just stop and think, what if even just one person that doesn't know Christ stops by my blog and sees a Jesus-post that resonates with them? the internet is its own special mission field and i'm so excited that God has blessed us with a writing ability. i don't think it's a coincidence by any means and i know that if we just used it to glorify him, that amazing things would happen.

Chunky Knubby Navel said...

It's a good thing we aren't all too much alike. How boring would that be? =)

Whitney

jordyn said...

randomly found your blog. love this post.

the shepherds represent the poor and the magi represent the wealthy. how simple and how profound.

i was amazed to learn in college that the shepherds are just the regular-joes of that time who happen to follow guidance of the lord and find the messiah (gold!). and that the magi (who make me laugh at their irony) are just pagan wizard men who stumble upon the christ child and realize, a deep realization, that he is something more.

its as if everything leading up to the birth of christ and the actual birth just scream: jesus came for everyone. simple. but speaks volumes to every generation.

love the post, again!