God,
You know that every year,
around Thanksgiving,
My advent prayer looks like a Santa Hat–
(and yes I cheat and start earlier)
You know which one I mean.
The really real one,
deep red one that got last minute at a drugstore,
that I can no longer find anywhere
that one I spent $6 Freshman year of college…
Way too close to 9/11,
This hat was a promise that
somehow
despite the exams, the terrorism, the depression and the needless war
Christmas would come that year
And that Christianity didn’t have to look like
whatever it looked like on the news that year…
(and honestly how its looked since then too)
I wear that prayer on my head
and Holy Spirit only you know how it is I haven’t lost that hat in the following twenty years
I have tried to buy another hats, similar hats, but its never worked, and always return to this one–worn throughout Thanksgiving til Christmas.
Somedays, I forget I am wearing the Santa hat, til someone flashes a smile, or compliments me,
or calls me Mrs Claus, And then I wink and tell them I’m actually Santa
And when Children ask why I wear the hat, I say its because I get to teach about Christmas because I’m a Pastor
and it reminds me…
why I do all of this.
Last year, it was a relief to wear it some as things slowly opened,
this year, I suspect that it will be more defiant,
as Covid rages on, and humans are not my favorite beings
at the moment.
But I’ll be here,
wearing a prayer,
like hope, peace, joy and love
upon my head–
Thank God for twenty years of Santa hats–
and all the pieces of prayers that we wear on our hearts
today and everyday.
Give us all the pieces of prayers you can this season
I pray
Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
katyandtheword 