Presby-Musings

I  was talking to a friend the other day, and we were commiserating on the miserable state of politics, world affairs and otherwise in our current culture.  

At one point we both sighed in unison.  

"I'm going to turn off cable news for the rest of the year," my friend said.  I told him that it wouldn't do any good.  I  told him that all of the crazy would find him somehow.  

"It feels like the world is falling apart sometimes," he said wearily.  

I  get it.  I feel like that at times, too.  It's easy to get overwhelmed by all of the hysteria, anxiety, political scandals, name-calling, in-fighting, violence, fear and what-not that seems to permeate everything.  

Funny.  The world of the first century wasn't all that dissimilar.  There were wars, and rumors of wars.  There was oppressive taxation from the government.  Terrorists were striking soft targets like festivals, feast days and religious observances.  

And the political and religious leaders of the…

And I shall long for you, no matter how long it takes. - Tiffany Aurora

Longing  [ˈlôNGiNG] N. 
a yearning desire.

Advent is an expectant season.  We journey through Advent with a sense of that expectation embedded in us.  

It's the feeling that there might be something on the other side of whatever it is that we are doing---something more than just the end of the task, the check on the list.  

And there is an electricity of sorts just below the surface of all of it---a reverent kind of hum that reminds us that there is something (one) coming, new beginnings on the horizon, a new thing just on the other side of what we perceive.  

We long for this.  All of us... long for this.  

If we open our eyes wide enough, listen intently enough... we can see and hear signs and symbols of this coming newness all around us.  

We can see it on the faces of children, excitedly riding their bikes to school in the chilly December air--filled with expectation of the weeks to come... 

We can see it in the mo…

I was feeling frustrated yesterday.  There was a glitch in our mail system and I was unable to complete the task of getting the daily devotion for today sent out in the time frame I wanted it sent. 

I was not able to fix the problem myself, which means I had to rely on others to do it.  And I had to wait, which is one of the most maddening things for me.  

I can't stand being in that space--out of control, at the mercy of other people's schedules, in charge, but not really in charge.  I even figured out a plan going forward to avoid this particular thing from happening again, trying to prepare for every contingency.  

Whom am I kidding, though?   There will be other issues, other problems and obstacles.  I can't foresee them all, and I'm sure there will be a time in the near future when I'll be back here feeling this way once more.  

It's interesting to be feeling all of this during a season that is marked by expectation.  Advent reminds us that God's arrival i…

There is a feeling that comes to me when I am putting up my Christmas lights. 

It finds its way through frustration that is born out of my inability to organize my lights from year to year, resulting in tangles, blown fuses, and broken bulbs.  It finds a path past my aching back as I twist in a hundred unfamiliar ways trying to string the lights just so. 

It manages to come just underneath my errant swear words and negative self talk, as I find myself stopping and starting, making mistakes, using the wrong cord. 

The feeling that finds me is one of sweet sadness and joy.  It's a feeling that speaks to the way I realize all that has changed, all that has been lost and found, mourned and celebrated since the last time I unwound my lights. 


I remember how my mom loved all of my decorations and would smile sweetly at them... The way my littlest boy's face would glow in wonder, bathed in the rainbow colors of my work...  When my middle son helped me figure out how to run the electrical…