I think that our Christmas tree looks remarkably like the Grinch one this year
A Decorated (unevenly and crowded) Christmas tree, lit, with a red star on top
When our eldest was little approximately 3
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas–the 22 minute cartoon
became their favorite movie;
it was one of the few things they watched on TV
They would watch it on repeat
(You’ve all had that DVD right the one you were tempted to hide?
What do parents do now with streaming…the advantages of disks)
This meant that I started to read it to them every night as well–
It was not long until I had the entire book more or less memorized.
Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot…
but the Grinch, who lived just North of Whoville
Did Not
I am spending my first Christmas not working for a church
in 17 years
The isolation is tough,
I am not feeling Grinchish,
but I am feeling a little North of Whoville
All the things I unconsciously hold together
as Christmas are not there
which is hard, because tradition are important
rituals help to make us human
and keep us rooted
And though I long for a church
that is more flexible
open and able to communicate
to the world at large
It doesn’t mean that I do not miss
all the pieces that I cherished
About leading through Advent
All the carefully chosen pieces
that others might not have noticed
but I knew were full of meaning
and nudging people to open their hearts
to teach about the full humanity,
humility and the wonderful
accessible salvific work of Jesus
But I also know that Christmas
doesn’t come from what we do
or say
It comes all the same
And though I’m between jobs
and making new traditions
and trusting in God for these next steps
Somehow or other
Christmas [will come] all the same
as it has come, every time before
In pandemics, wars and God knows what else
and though they are foregoing Christmas in the West Bank
in solidarity with Gaza, and I agree
I think, somehow or other
I have to believe
Christ is here all the same.
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”
katyandtheword 