the wonder

 there are some things you "know."

and then there are things that you know.

and things that you "know" that you don't know yet, but will.

 

quintessential example: parenthood

it's no duh that suddenly having a new tiny person in the household changes everything. absolutely everything. there is zero percent of your life that is untouched by this status change. now, I "knew" this before march.

but then march came, and with it, the wonder that is called parenthood. that's when I knew. 

 

comparison: remember that one time senator walsh put her foot in her mouth and implied that nurses sit around and play cards all day? yeah. the myriad memes that arose from that comment caused millions of people to chuckle who knew that nurses also probably do work sometimes, but brought an uproar of bellowing laughter from nurses because they knew what they spent their shift doing. 

 

I'm on the second side of all the parenting memes now. can't say I don't enjoy it though. it's not only been encouraging, but also enlightening. and also a little embarrassing. I've heard a billion times (because it's true) that your kid will reveal to you all kinds of things you didn't know about yourself. what I didn't hear is that this unfortunate behavior starts MUCH earlier than I thought, like by 6 months. can't walk, can't talk, can't feed or dress herself, but lil' bugaboo is now thoroughly convinced that there is no book, toy, song, food, or animal that compares to the flat, black rectangle I carry around with me. I know this is only the beginning, but that definitely shamed me into spending less time on my phone when she is around. 

 

more positively, I have also regained a sense of simple wonder. how would I define "wonder"? well, now I would describe wonder as everything expressed by a baby encountering grass for the first time. she could not take her eyes off the long green blades all around her. she held her hands in front of her and kept running them through those tiny leaves, so fascinated that she was oblivious to me, even as I was holding her. and it was grass- GRASS, for pete's sake! but it's incredible to watch, because it gives me an excuse to get down on her level- literally- and be excited about things like spoons, flower petals, bath water splashes, and toes. 

 

at some point she's going to get all mature and boring and just walk on through the fallen leaves without slowing down. it might be another 30 years before she remembers how cool grass is. 

 

I'm guessing that it will get harder every year, but there are some things I don't ever want her to lose her wonder at- christmas, for example. how incredible is it: an omnipotent Deity who is larger than time, confines Himself to a human body. He reduces Himself to the humblest of all persons and spends His first night in a box full of goat food, because Airbnb wasn't a thing yet. (even if it had been, joseph wasn't made of denarii. he ain't affording all those charges!!) the sky over sheep-filled fields exploded with heavenly beings who sent a pile of shepherds- humans created in the image of God- to gaze in wonder at God, who had just been born in the image of man. God made good on His ancient promise to deliver humanity from the soul-crushing weight of sin.

 

we grow up "knowing" about life on this world, until we come to know true Life that continues in heaven for eternity. God, Who knows everything, chose to limit Himself for a time to "knowing," experiencing in a physical body things like scraped knees, stomach bugs, wrestling matches with brothers, hugs from a mother, family vacations, homework, splinters, bullies… 

 

I want this kid of mine to only grow more amazed at this miracle. the look of quiet, happy awe that she had when she saw her fake little christmas tree is the look I want her to give to Jesus when she comes to know Him. and I want that to be soon. I want her to only "know" things I came to know in my circuitous route to Him. 

 

dear bugaboo, that promise God made to adam and eve just after the first screw-up has been fulfilled, so that His second promise to you could come true as well. that's why we celebrate christmas. look at those twinkle lights on that fake little tree and know that the True Light is here to draw you to Himself. open the presents and remember that the eternal Presence is with you, just for the asking. so ask, that you may receive! keep your wonder- feed it, care for it, and let it grow unrestrained at this marvel. 

 

know about christmas, know Christ, and celebrate accordingly, with the same joy as the angels. 

 

 

"mary, did you kn-" yes. she did.

 a few weeks ago i was finally able to see my bestie again, for the first time in an embarrassingly long time. as in, long enough to grow half a person. i think it was near the beginning of our 7.5 hour-long lunch date that she asked me what hopes and dreams nik and i had for that unexpected half-a-person. if the kid ever reads this, i hope she takes this the right way, because i said i really had no idea at all. partly because i don't do well with open-ended questions like that. partly because even that many weeks later i had not fully recovered from the reality of the situation, which turns out to not have been medically impossible.

 

bunny trail: this is now the second time a doctor has looked at my face and told it that the current situation was medically impossible, with a second doctor affirming. not sure what to do with that, but…

 

i'm guessing mary might have recognized the feelings, at least somewhat. she had a few more weeks' head's up notice than me, but that wouldn't have really helped her out much. her situation being even more assuredly impossible than mine, i don't envy her that conversation with her parents. i hope that maybe an angel was on hand then, too. even if nazareth was as busy and diverse as some texts state, as soon as she started showing she became "that girl" to every "good" jew in the area. roman rule claimed sole authority over capital punishment (the penalty for adultery under the mosaic law), but nothing said a radical bunch of jews couldn't arrange an accident to avoid a public scandal, or at least disown her and chuck her to the curb. it's doubtful anyone sat down with her and asked all about her hopes and dreams for the future.  and if by chance she did get to chat, the conversation probs didn't last much past, "oh yeah- He's gonna save the world from sin and His Father is God in heaven. an angel said so."

 

that's a shame, because she would have had -quite literally- the best answer in the universe to that question, and she didn't even have to come up with it on the fly. the song "mary did you know?" must be rhetorical, because she did know. even if she was unaware of a number of particulars, she got the gist of it. and the gist was delivered to her in person, straight from the mouth of a heavenly angel. the words of that gist carried her through several months of tiredness, sickness, heartburn, mocking, tears, loneliness, and hurt. oh yes, and moving in with her new husband who nearly ended their engagement over this "impossibility." so, no pressure, girl. i can't do much more than imagine, but every kick and somersault she felt probably reminded her of those words, equally stunning and reassuring.

 

i'm twice the age she was, and every bit as unprepared. i am under no delusion that i have even a fraction of this under control. bugaboo will probably be at least 2 before she realizes she's not a cat like her older "siblings," and stops trying to lick them clean, drink from their water fountain or chew on the houseplants. mary didn't have to worry about things like vaccine schedules or each year's new car seat regulations. but she did have to worry about being the earthly parent to a Deity (and then at least 6 of the Deity's siblings…).  *gives the District 12 salute*

 

this little bugaboo has developed her own daily routine which includes a morning and evening round of calisthenics and at least one period of wind sprints and tai kwon do. as of 8 days ago, these high kicks are now visible.  nik is hoping for a future soccer player, and from all appearances, his wish has been granted.

yeah, it's a lot easier when the pressure's off us. it's not like bugaboo is gonna turn the world on its ear and change the entire course of humanity.

 

dear bugaboo, nope, i don't have any promises or guarantees. no messages from shining angelic messengers. no legends or portents or prophecies. but this advent season as i watch our charlie brown christmas tree twinkle, crinkle, and wither away before my eyes, here are a couple hopes and dreams for your future:

 

i hope you grow up always hearing more and more about this other completely unexpected baby and who He grew up to be.

 

i hope you come to understand what He did and why He did it. i hope you understand it in such a deep and personal way that you are knocked to your knees before Him in praise and awe.

 

i hope you don't hate me for not being whatever kind of saint that mary is pictured as being, because i for sure am not, and i want to prepare you for the all-but-inevitable possibility that i will screw up at least as much as she did, and then some.

 

i hope you grow in stature, in wisdom, and in favor with God and man.

 

i hope that even when your earthly parents royally screw up, we still direct your heart toward your heavenly Father, who has never, ever screwed up, and in His divine wisdom put you under our care for a time.

 

i hope that once you start walking, wherever your very (very) active and kick-y feet take you, people there sense the presence of the One who gave you to us, that we pray dwells in you forever.

 

i hope that once you start talking, your mouth is full of praise and that you communicate daily with your Creator God.

 

i hope that once you start school, you hang out with normal people, lonely people, "ugly" people, simple people- all kinds of people- and help them to know and feel that they are loved, by you but especially by Jesus.

 

i hope that each year as you break ornaments higher and higher on the christmas tree, the meaning of advent becomes a bit more real and true for you. 

 

merry christmas, bugaboo

Hark it, you Baptist!

things that never get smaller:

-healthcare insurance coverage prices

-sin

-women's purses

-apparently, the universe

things that never get larger

-children's level of wide-eyed amazement at things that adults are simply too busy to give more than a passing thought to.

like Christmas.

it can't get larger because it's already maxed out, and it only shrinks as they "mature."

i was walking through the front yard of a friend (because it's shorter than walking all the way around to the walkway) and the strap of my favorite, $3 Brasilian purse snapped.  that night was when i realized my standards have changed when it comes to purses.  back when i first started carrying a purse and bought a real, adult purse, the one i got appealed to me and was just the perfect size.  it held everything i needed it to.

that list of things i need to have held in a purse has expanded, and now that i must go back to this purse, it is no longer big enough. this is a crisis of epic proportions, and necessitates the purchase of a purse that can hold everything i need for a nuclear war evacuation crisis. if the trend continues, and this purse break, i'll just have to upgrade to a suitcase.

the full list of necessities is too long to bother with.  it's like the Christmas list of things to do, most of which has already been eliminated as "sooo not happening."  i actually did a christmas card/letter, which was as adult-ish and organized as i could get this year. there is only so much i can get together before i snap.  sadly, the snapping of my mood happened a few hours after the snapping of the purse. i tried so hard, but i couldn't push it any more. 

there are some times and seasons that are harder for me to get on board with.  holidays are one of those times and seasons.  i'm psyched out for all you guys surrounded by happiness,  happy family members and happy foods and your favorite ad-free Pandora stations. that's not even sarcastic- i really am.  but i have no real concept of that.  that happiness fluctuates, flickers and then fizzes out.  it takes all my energy to keep it going, and once it's gone- that's it.

i'm tired of waiting for things to change, to get better, for people to stop being jerks, for walls to be torn down instead of built, for children to stop dying, for innocents to stop paying the price for evildoers, for money to grow on ficus trees, for Chip and Joanna Gains to come redo my house … the list goes on.  but i'm tired of waiting.  it's been years since i had any semblance of a happy holiday with my family all together.  don't even bother giving me the "no family is perfect" speech.  duh.  i know that.  but some have deeper ruts and potholes than others.  i'm so, so, so grateful for the 2 or 3 families that "adopt" me each holiday, and for a job where i can work and get paid to do what i love and be around my work family for the times i can't be with anyone else.  but even still, i spent most of the holiday time waiting- for the holiday time to end.  i'm sitting in Panera, which is jam-packed and hotter than a sauna, and i'm the only one sitting alone.  (and the 3 year old sitting facing me next table over has a scary-hideous doll.  i might even have nightmares over that thing.)  3 people i know have run over to say hi, then left because they are with friends and family and barely remember anything about me- which gets super-awkward super-quickly. 

i digress.  waiting for all those things to change seems pointless.  it's impossible to fathom any of those changes occurring.  that's what that is- a list of impossibilities. 

and then i went to church.

i love stories that start (or continue) that way.

i think it's become the new "thing" for pastors to choose some of the least appealing Bible verses ever and create sermons that expound on their usefulness and rich meaning hiding in those unending verses on ritual laws, sacrifices and genealogies.  if you tell me Matthew chapter 1 is your favorite passage, i'm going to call you a liar to your face next time i see it.  not that i'm knocking this new "thing." in fact, it may only be because this sunday was the third, fourth or twentieth time i've heard a sermon on Matthew chapter 1 that i did get something new out of it.

confession moment: i lost Jesus Points when i inwardly rolled my eyes as the pastor read every. single. name. in. all. 17. verses.  all of them. Saint Matthew did not even record all of them, either, i don't think.  i hate how grateful i am for that. i'm a bad Baptist- sorry.

but then i listened.  i listened to another list of impossibilities.

there are 47 names total, if i counted right, listed in verses 1-17. this doesn't count 14+ other persons referred to, but not named (Judah's brothers -11, Jeconiah's brothers- 2+, and Bathsheba). of those 47 names, i can easily count at least 15 inconsistencies, improbabilities or impossibilities.  and that's only Joseph's side of the genealogy, and only the names and situations i'm familiar with.

1. let's start with Abraham.  this guy is a fossil. one foot in the grave, the other on a 99-year old banana peel and -BAM!- he's a brand new dad.

2. Isaac.  technically, Abraham's second-born son who carried the promise despite a half-brother who could have sought revenge, and his dad's incredible wealth, and a near run-in with his dad's knife on an altar, involving a father-son retreat, a whole lot of questions, and a divinely appointed/visually impaired (?) ram.

3. Jacob. another second-born son, a class-act jerk/liar with a death threat…frankly, he just about deserved it. he got away with a limp, and an awareness of how close he came to being murdered slowly and painfully.

4. Judah.  son of Leah, who Jacob married BY ACCIDENT.  the scammer got scammed, big-time.  and the girl whose dad thought of as too ugly to find a husband (not even kidding you) became the mother of Judah, whose name means "praised one" because this time she said "this time i will praise Yahweh." instead of seeking favor from men, who clearly had morals anywhere but where they were supposed to be, she gained joy from the One who sees not as man sees.

5. Perez.  ummm, eww.  so he was born, it was gross, don't read this to children, moving on.

6. Boaz.  his mom was a hooker who was graciously spared the death sentence placed on every single other soul in her city (except for the family she begged mercy for).  not only was she granted her life, but also a family within God's chosen people and a prominent spot in Jesus's family line.

7. Obed.  his mom was a chick with major resolve and loyalty… from MOAB.  Moabites were not known for their faithfulness to Yahweh or their morals.  intermarriage was not supposed to happen, but this one did and was blessed beyond belief.

8. David.  greatest, coolest, most popular king of all began his days as a shepherd.  the runt of the litter (he had, like, 7 thousand brothers.  or 7.  either way.) and was practically forgotten by his dad.  good thing he was a hottie, or he'd have nothing- NOTHING- going for him.

9. Solomon.  also not the best family-friendly story, but nonetheless used by God. an awfully unholy relationship meant he was born.  later on, following his dad's example, he won zero "world's best dad" mugs. trophies and plaques from round the world, but his home life was a mess of rather epic proportions.

10. Bathsheba. not even mentioned, probably a Hittite and possibly a pagan.  it is unclear how much of the affair was her fault, but after losing the resulting son, God gave her another one- Solomon, the wisest and richest king of all time, everywhere.

11. Uriah. i know, i know.  he's not even part of the lineage.  he *was* one of King David's best friends, had super-high rank in the legendary "Mighty Men"- until Dave decided to sleep with Bathsheba his wife, have him straight-up murdered and not think twice about it.  i love how even though he had no genetic contribution, it's his name mentioned, not Bathsheba.  he was faithful to his king, his country, and likely also Yahweh- faithful to the death and honorable to the end.  and his name is here, hundreds of years later.

12. Rehoboam.  an idiot who destroyed the empire Solomon built.  his dad was in the grave all of ten seconds before the bad decision-making began and he alienated 95% of his subjects, who subsequently rejected him. for some odd reason, he was not assassinated.

13. Hezekiah. spared miraculously from death by Sennacherib and the full might of the Assyrian army, then spared miraculously from death by illness.  stories like his are awesome, and rare.  read it. fun fact:  one of the most well-known prophecies regarding Jesus's birth (likely) came during that invasion of Assyria, when every Israelite was shaking in his sandals and puking from sheer terror.  Micah 5:2-5a says:

 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.  Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.  And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.  and they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.  and he shall be their peace."

Micah 5:1 and 5:5b-6 both mention sieges and Assyrians and swords and scary things.

14. Babylon.  instead of simply killing the entire royal line after the Babylonian captivity, Jechoniah survives and so does his family line.  captivities are perfect times for bad things to happen, for people to get murdered, for rebellions to be squashed and for God to show His hand in incredible ways by not having any of those things happen.  the Babylonians were not a much better option than the Assyrians, but neither could defeat Yahweh's plan.

15. may as well bring it up, even though everybody knows it. Mary.  she was only half-way married, according to what i've heard of ancient betrothal customs of the day.  there was a legal contract (Step 1), but the actual wedding ceremony (Step 2) had not happened yet.  one source i read stated that because of this, the whole oops-Mary-is-pregnant thing was only a small scandal, instead of the full-blown, front-page news story it could have been, but still.  God said "it's time for Christmas" and He found Mary.  the fact that she had no idea what she was doing had no bearing on the situation.  God did know what He was doing, and she submitted.

*** 

the shepherds sitting on a hill that lonely night of unknown exactness were also tired of waiting.  they were bored out of their skulls, playing chess for the millionth time with each other, hopefully with their sheepies safe in the paddock for the night.  taking turns watching for stray wolves or bears or IRS agents, they all saw the most unexpected guy.   

he was shiny.

he was in the sky.

and he was SINGING.

and then all his shiny, singing buddies showed up too.

their waiting was over. 400 years of a whole lot of NOTHING, and now the time foretold had come.  and instead of busting into the royal palace bedrooms and priests' compounds and even the Holy Temple, the Herald Angels came to the shepherds, and they Harked. 

there's at least 15 reasons why Hark the Herald Angels Sing is basically my favorite Christmas song of all time forever.

1-14 are because that sight, on that night, is so incredibly incredible is blows my mind to smithereens and makes my pulse go up and my eyes tear up and.. and.. i can't understand how anyone can hear that song and not jump up and down and go tearing up and down the sanctuary aisles.  EVEN THE BAPTISTS.

like, COME ON NOW.  THERE ARE ANGELS SINGING RIGHT OVER YOUR HEADS. 

SHOUTING, " JESUS IS HERE!!!!  HE'S  FINALLY, FINALLY HERE!!! "

JOIN THEM!!!! 
WHY ARE YOU STILL SITTING?!?!

reason 15 is that there are few other hymns that contain so much theology from Genesis to Revelation that speak to what most humans feel, if you can bear to sing past the second verse (…when did churches stop doing that?).   because this post isn't long enough, i'm going to put all the verses here.  you may not have another chance this Christmas season, and that is a travesty.

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinner reconciled.

Joyful, all ye nations rise- join the triumph of the skies

with angelic hosts proclaim, "Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Christ, by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord:

late in time behold him come, offspring of the virgin's womb.

veiled in flesh the God-head see, hail the incarnate deity

pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel!

hail the heaven-born prince of Peace, hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and Life to all He brings, risen with healing in His wings.

mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die;

born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.

come Desire of Nations, come, fix in us Thy humble home.

Rise, the woman's conquering seed- bruise in us the serpent's head!

Adam's likeness now efface, stamp Thy image in its place!

Second Adam from above, reinstate us in Thy love.

Hark! the herald angels sing, "glory to the newborn King!"

the social rejects of the day were the first to get the baby shower invitations. the poor ones, the bottom of the totem poles, the victims of a screwed up society who had even worse political scenery than we do-  God must thrive on possibilifying impossibilities, because the whole Bible's full of it.  somehow, out of a chronically depressing situation, hope came. no parties were thrown, no family get-togethers, no lunatics destroying the marketplaces with their insane bargain-hunting. 

the shepherds just had to go.  they may have washed up and changed shirts (if they had a spare), but probs not.  they had no gift but the gift of their simple, joyful acceptance of the fact that their Savior had come, and their delicious odor.  it fit in well with the barnyard scene.

if your life is full of impossible hopes and dreams, you are in good company. 

if you are lonely, and hopeful- or maybe unhopeful

or fearful, surrounded by enemies and under siege from all sides

or looking at your family/living situation and wondering what the snap is going on

or just waiting. waiting with your tissues in hand and your heart on the line

or aching for that healing

or still wounded by that serpent and his curse, suffering from the fact that we trace our lineage to Adam, through murderers, hookers, rapists, terrorists, rebels, and every other sort of sinner just like me.

Hope came, and it is coming again.  Emmanuel really is with us, even when we don't feel Him.  the Second Adam is doing everything the first one couldn't.  someday soon, the impossibilities will be no longer.

i do not have the voice of an angel, nor can i levitate above your head and shine.

what i can do is cry.  i'm shedding tears this Christmas because of several deep-cutting impossibilities that are weighing me down this season.  i'm not okay now, so you just need to be okay with that.  don't try to fix it- just let me feel this now.  don't worry- i know what's coming. the angels are coming again, and so is Christ, by heaven's highest adored, Christ the Everlasting Lord with more Light, Life and Healing that i can fathom.

some of these tears are tears of Hope.  i can almost hear those herald angels still, and that song is a beautiful, beautiful one.

and i just wanna keep harking for a little while longer.

"Jesus, please take my flamingoes..."

i'd love to say that this is my favorite time of year.

so i will- this is my favorite time of year.

and i only lied a little bit! 

parts of this time of year are my favorite, but some parts are not. i like the extra smiles that come with the holiday season.  i like how there's a special little spark inside people that prompts a giving attitude, increased generosity, reconciliation and, of course, good food and folks to share it with.

however, i do not like the cold weather, the early sunset and the impossibility of finding a good pair of jeans that fit.  guys have no idea. none at all.

i'm also not a huge fan of most family-related occasions.  being over 500 miles away from most family members means that i either get "adopted" by a church family for a day or else i sign up to work, where at least i can be with my "work family." working in a hospital means i encounter the full range of family situations on a daily basis, and as much as i dislike it i know where some of my family lies on that sliding scale of instability.  the holiday season seems to exist solely to remind me of this and makes celebrating a bit harder at times.  last week felt like an emotional workout trying to force myself to become excited.  i almost succeeded for a while!

this thanksgiving provided me and my sister an opportunity to do something we've never done before and go have an adventure in the great state of Florida.  too many other relatives had too much going on for us to get together this year, so we looked up Disney World on mapquest, loaded the car and booked it on an overnight road trip.  we photo-documented just about everything and had a fantastic time seeing what a little bit of magic and whole lot of money can build.

 

the best of what we saw, however, could never be replicated as well, no matter how far science takes us. you can commercialize however much you want, but the real eye-catchers were not made of plastic.  while "White Christmas" blared over speakers and glittery pixie dust covered the gift stores, we walked past gorgeous flowers, palm trees, ponds, rivers, animals and all kinds of people.  trained dolphins leapt 10 feet in the air, and wild manatees rested while we snorkeled over their heads buried in the mud.  a barracuda tried to make friends with me.  an evil-looking eel tried to steal my soul. a pelican almost choked to death swallowing a live fish that refused to give up. we went on a water ride BEFORE visiting the 30-degree penguin environment. we pondered why on earth flamingo/es sleep with one foot up.  and then we wondered why we had never wondered that before. for real.

bunny trail #1: lept? leapt? leaped? how many of these are correct?!? my spell-check recognizes none of them.

bunny trail #2:  plural of flamingo is...? and is this American English (which isn't either) vs. British English? and how many debates can we have over the validity of Webster's new addition of culterally made-up words like "ginormous" and "facebooking"?

coming back, i was faced again with some realities that i enjoyed being away from.  there's a dearth of Christmas music on the radio, and i could really use some James Penguin right now.  there's been some unrest in my heart and i struggled to figure it out until i got a step closer yesterday. 

it's the second week of Advent, a time of preparation and celebration in anticipation of the Hope of Nations. 

my devotions have led me to the end of John- the resurrection, Peter's restoration and call, and yet another Baptist-style fellowship by the sea.

Jesus's birth, and Jesus's resurrection.

the two biggest events in all of human history before me, and i felt empty. 

well, not empty.  i was full, but not of Christmas cheer. 

i was short-sighted; blinded by something in the way.

one of the little irritations about road trips is the frequent "ping" sound that i hear as one by one little bugs crash-land on the windshield.  driving overnight means my vision isn't obscured at all, but i still hear each one.  once the sun comes up i can see every little splotch that causes fuzzy blurs in my periphery when i focus on the road ahead.

this time, it felt like more than a bug.  this wasn't a "fuzzy blur" on my emotional windshield.  i could barely see anything.  it was bigger than a bug- more like a bird. 

and i'm not talking 'bout a little goldfinch.

by "bird" i mean a big ole' FLAMINGO.  feathers, bill, legs and wings- the whole dern thing had kamikazed down and obliterated  my entire field of vision.  i had to squint through the downy under-feathers and between knobby knees just to see the second Advent candle being lit. 

the candle of Peace. 

the confusion mounted to frustration.  i can get rid of bug-splatter with a few swipes of the wipers. 

i cannot, however, get rid of flamingo-splatter.

yes, i literally said a prayer asking Jesus to remove the flamingo.  (not out loud, you weirdo!!  good grief- i was in church!)

i felt better, not because the flamingo had moved yet, but because i knew that the Peace was still there even though i can't really see it now.  and that i knew the one who could clean up flamingo/es better than anyone. 

and also because of the mental image. i know the trip to Florida had a part in it, but still… i don't feel convicted in giving credit to the One who created flamingos in the first place for also giving me a slightly more humorous way of looking at the problem. 

through the tangle on my windshield i can see several more flamingo/es headed my way.  i'm so glad i've got Animal Control on speed dial. (i figure as long as i've got a great analogy, i should take it as far as i can!)

underneath all the wrappings and ribbons and commercialized consumerism lies a calm reality.  the truth of the season is that Hope showed up in a dirty barn- not a palace or White House or Wall Street,-during a time of uncertainty, fear, instability and hopelessness.  an unlikely hero in a less-than-resorty locale with an impossible mission. the prayer on my heart right now is that as He takes care of my flamingo/es, He will also take care of yours, that the God-made Peace and Hope of this Advent season sparkle through brighter than the man-made pixie dust (creepy how that sounds…) and that the highway ahead of you is clear.  these problems are temporary; the solution is eternal, and it's on its way and nothing can stop it.