Nov 17, 2009 |
by Annette Bridges. ©2009. All rights reserved.
Are you ready to blaze a new road on your life journey?
I love the New Year! Each New Year feels like an opportunity for renewal, regeneration, restoration and renovation. And believe me, I always have plenty of resolutions to be implemented.
This year is no different! I have weight that I long to lose, career goals that I intend to pursue, relationships that I hope to improve, places I want to see, rooms in my house that I plan to reorganize and debts that simply must get paid off.
And since crossing one of those “age” hurdles in my life, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of doing and experiencing things I’ve never done before.
This makes me think of the introductory statement William Shatner used to make before each Star Trek episode. Remember it? He talked about exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life forms and new civilizations — “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
It’s words like “explore” and “new” that capture my imagination. I can certainly see that bold action is often required of a trailblazer, pioneer and groundbreaker.
After my husband and I walked a few trails in states like Colorado and Oregon, I couldn’t help but be grateful for the efforts and accomplishments made by explorers like Lewis and Clark. Over 200 years ago they set out on an amazing expedition where they faced unknown people, harsh conditions and territory they had never traveled before.
Walking through dense forests, even on a well-established trail, made me consider the courage and vision that must have been needed by the first trailblazers in order to imagine what was possible even when their view was blocked at first.
Who could imagine that on the other side of some steep mountains could be a vast ocean? Or who could imagine that in the midst of the forest would be a beautiful waterfall?
When we set out on a new trail in our life, we usually have no idea what we will find along our path —much less what we will discover at the end of our journey. Many times we probably have an idea about what we hope to find or experience along the way. But most likely, we can’t even begin to imagine the many surprises that we’ll undoubtedly encounter.
We can run into problems if we try to outline our expectations too much. When we don’t see what we think we’re going to see at the moment we thought we would, disappointment and discouragement can cause us to miss something unexpected and equally as wonderful as what we had hoped for.
So the lesson here, my friends, is to expect the unexpected and love the experience when you’re blessed with it.
Lee Ann Womack begins her song “I hope you dance” with “I hope you never lose your sense of wonder.” Hearts filled with wonder hunger to be surprised and eagerly anticipate the wonderment of all they will see and experience.
Remember the wonder of your first kiss, your first day of college or your first airplane ride?
One of my New Year’s resolutions this year is to find new wonder in the things I do each day. Wonder makes our lives more meaningful and enjoyable. I can see now how not having wonder leads to boredom and cynicism. It could be that part of my desire for something new and exciting is a wake-up call to rediscover my sense of wonder in what is already in my life.
So let’s rekindle our sense of wonder if we need to and make each day of our New Year more wonder-full. I suspect this will make blazing new trails as well as walking old ones much more fun!
Nov 17, 2009 |
by Annette Bridges. ©2009. All rights reserved.
The New Year is fast approaching. A Facebook friend recently commented, “I’ll be happy to see 2009 in my rearview mirror.” I suspect she is not the only one who feels this way.
Yet even though some may be ready for their year to end, others are having some trepidation about the New Year and the changes it promises.
New beginnings sometimes bring both an excitement and an uncertainty. And sometimes the uncertainty leads to fear that can thwart our forward momentum and progress.
Indeed, fear can freeze us in our tracks and stop us from making decisions and taking steps that are good for us. Perhaps we’re afraid of making the same mistakes we made last year. Or perhaps we’re simply not sure which next step is the best one to take. So we do nothing!
There’s a song that often comes to my mind when I think about making a new beginning. It’s based upon an Old Testament story. (Genesis Chapter 26)
Once upon a time Isaac and his wife Rebekah were forced to move several times. Moving in those days meant digging a new well of water each time in their new habitat. Again and again, they settled in a location where they were unwelcomed. And their “enemy” filled their well with dirt in an attempt to make them move.
And so they would. Isaac and his family would simply pick up camp and move to a new place and dig another well.
Paul Overstreet wrote a song about “Ike” — as he calls him — titled “Dig another well.” The chorus pretty much sums up his main point and why this song has often come to my mind when thinking about making a new start.
“So when the rains don’t fall and the crops all fail,
And the cows ain’t puttin’ any milk in the pail,
Don’t sit around waitin’ for a check in the mail,
Just pick up the shovel and dig another well,
Pick up the shovel and dig another well.”
The solution is pretty simple, my friends. So you need to start over somewhere? Things have not worked out where you are now? Don’t hesitate. Don’t sit around in dismay and disappointment. Don’t ruminate over what could have been. “Just pick up the shovel and dig another well.”
I love this advice, and there have been many times when I’ve had to give heed to it!
And here’s the good news. Every time Isaac’s servants dug a new well, they found water. And so will we all when we begin anew. There will always be new opportunities and possibilities available to us. New ideas and discoveries await everyone who takes on a new adventure.
Recognize that God’s wisdom and care is at work in your life. Affirm that God wants only good for His children. Acknowledge His presence and power as the guiding influence each day — each moment — of your life today and tomorrow.
Trust His direction to lead you to the perfect home, job, relationship. The promise of 2010 brings a happy anticipation. This is a time to rejoice. We can expect a better year.
So come on in New Year! We’re ready for you!
Nov 17, 2009 |
by Annette Bridges. ©2009. All rights reserved.
Our gathering almost didn’t happen. Full agendas and busy schedules were dictating the days ahead. The Christmas season can be that way. Countless parties, invitations and things to get accomplished leave little room for adding anything else to our calendar.
How many times have you said, “We’ve got to get together sometime?” But that time never happens. And we have good reasons, too. There are just not enough days in the month of December to do everything we wish we could.
It was at the glowing insistence of a little child that we moms compared calendars and schedules to see if we could find a day that would work for our little get together. We found one day that was more-or-less “open” for both our families, and it was in fact the very next evening. So we said, “Let’s do it!” And after some quick planning for an easy meal, our evening soon arrived.
We decided we would share a favorite story, poem or passage in addition to singing holiday favorites.
I selected a book I’d bought some years ago and had not read in a long time. It was titled, “A memory of Christmas tea” written by Tom Hegg. It’s a sweet story with a lesson I needed to hear.
We learn in the story that the heroine had received a great aunt’s Christmas china, and each year the niece displayed the china along with her other Christmas décor. But the china was given with a condition — that the niece share a cup of Christmas tea with someone else in the same way her great aunt had shared with her for many years.
This was a promise she had not kept with anyone. She had many reasons — excuses — that leapt to her mind. “Not enough time” pretty much sums up her list!
The niece recounts what sharing a cup of Christmas tea with her great aunt was like. Apparently, when this aunt sat down at tea, the niece had her undivided and complete attention. She listened to and lovingly encouraged her niece. And the niece felt the love and high expectations her great aunt had for her. Time seemed to magically stand still when the two of them shared a cup of Christmas tea.
Needless to say, the story has a happy conclusion. One evening while the niece is alone in her house with a stack of work brought home from the office, someone knocks at her door. And soon she fulfills her Christmas promise to her great aunt and shares a cup of Christmas tea with a guest. Forgetting about all she had to do, she soon gave her guest her full attention and said, “All I knew of time was that the time was ours to share.”
After reading the story, I was grateful for the reminder to slow down and focus on what is most important in our lives.
We didn’t share tea with our friends, but we did have eggnog. And time did magically stand still while we enjoyed every minute of our evening together — with no thought of anything else. And all we knew of time was that the time was ours to share with some very dear friends.
Time spent with family and friends is truly the best gift we can give and receive. The blessings and benefits last a lifetime. So make the time, my friends. Nothing is as important, precious and memorable as moments shared with those we hold dear. And there is no better time to be together than the present.
Nov 17, 2009 |
by Annette Bridges. ©2009. All rights reserved.
The “season of goodwill entered the trenches” were words that I read describing what some call the “Christmas Truce of 1914.” Others refer to the event as a “shining episode of sanity from among the bloody chapters of World War I.”
While the details of this event have often been embellished in hindsight, there is one conclusion that is never denied — the fact that Christmas managed to bring so-called mortal enemies together as friends for a time.
Some say the soldiers exchanged cigarettes and cake. Some say they joined in song and in a game of soccer. Whatever, it is indisputable that at least some of the men who were lined up in trenches along the Western Front — sometimes no more than 30 yards away from each other — on the first Christmas of the first World War, ceased fire and had the courage to meet one another face to face in no-man’s land.
The beauty of this moment was that it was spontaneous, unplanned, not orchestrated or scripted. With no interference by generals and politicians, the lower ranks — whose life expectancy during World War I was maybe two weeks — figured out how to create peace.
No, the peace did not last. Generals on both sides eventually ordered that the fighting continue. And there would not be another Christmas truce in the next four years of war.
I came upon this information only recently and I don’t recall ever learning it when I studied history in school. Most history books I’ve looked in since, only give the incident a fleeting mention as if it was pretty much inconsequential. But the more I ponder it, the more hope-filled I become.
I’m reminded of an email forward titled “Polar Bear: I come in peace” that made the rounds months ago. It was a collection of photographs featuring a polar bear’s approach to a team of tethered sled dogs in the wilds of Canada’s Hudson Bay. It was noted by Stuart Brown that the photographer, Norbert Rosing, was sure he was soon to see the demise of his dogs. But that didn’t happen.
The photos he took, to our point of view, might conclude that the bear and dogs played together. And it was said that the bear returned many nights to “play” with the dogs. Some dispute the interpretation of “play” and say rather the animals were just being curious of each other. Regardless, nobody died during the exchange — the point that captured my attention at the time.
And again, it seemed that peace was possible — dare I say natural — among supposed enemies.
I can’t help but think that among the disciples of Jesus were also some unlikely friends — fishermen, political activists and a tax collector who might never have become friends if not for Jesus. Jesus often associated with and helped those that some among him would have defined as their “enemy.”
And I can’t help but remember when Jesus was captured in the Garden of Gethsemane when a disciple cut off the ear of one of the arresting soldiers. Jesus stopped his disciples from fighting and healed the soldier’s ear. (Luke 22:51)
Jesus had much to say about those we perceive as our enemies including, “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” (Luke 6:27-28)
Oh I know we live in difficult times these days when such instructions may seem impossible or crazy. We don’t often know who to trust. And there are those who are so consumed by their fears, hatred and misconceptions, that all they can think about is killing their enemies. How can peace be possible with such people? How could we ever be friends with people who want to kill us?
Almost ten million died during World War I and millions more were wounded. I suspect among those killed were many of the same ones who found a way to create peace on Christmas in 1914. If only they could tell us how they did it. Apparently both sides wanted peace that Christmas — if only for a day.
I suppose wanting peace is a good beginning.
For me, the Christmas Truce of 1914 showed that living in peace is the most natural action for humankind. Peace is our God-given nature that Jesus aptly illustrated for us during his lifetime. And if peace is more natural than war, then peace among all enemies is possible.
Surely if peace is possible for some — if possible in the midst of battle — then peace under any circumstances and at any future point in time can be a reality. We can live in the manner God intends for His creation. The thought of this peaceful possibility gives me hope.
Nov 17, 2009 |
by Annette Bridges. ©2009. All rights reserved.
I admit it. I’m one of those people who is happy when radio stations start playing Christmas music. I don’t care if it’s before Thanksgiving. And I don’t care if stores start stocking their aisles with holiday décor before Halloween.
I had my Christmas cards made weeks ago. So if you’re on my list, mine may be among the first you receive. My closet is already half filled with gift boxes waiting to be wrapped. And yes, I have already started playing my Christmas CDs — much to my husband’s dismay I suppose. In fact, I’m listening to one right now!
The reason is plain and simple. I’m ready for Christmas! This has been a rough year on many fronts. And I’m ready for how the Christmas season makes me feel.
My life at Christmastime has not always been the picture of a Currier and Ives card. I’ve had family members pass on in December as well as family members be away from home on military deployments. I’ve not always been home for Christmas, and I’ve sometimes had little money to spend on gifts. I’ve been without a special someone in my life, and I’ve spent holidays in the hospital.
Still, Christmas has always been a season that can totally consume my mind, body and spirit with hope and peace. Gazing at the lights on my Christmas tree calms my weariness like nothing else can. I feel like I’m basking in God’s light. The twinkling lights never fail to remind me of His gentle ever-presence giving me encouragement and comfort. And I know He is lighting my path on this journey of life. And that’s reassuring!
So bring it on Christmas! I’m ready for you!
I’m ready to laugh with Rudolph, Frosty, Garfield and Charlie Brown. I’m ready to dream of a white Christmas, although that rarely happens in my neck of the woods. And I’m ready for my biggest decision of the day to be what kind of cookie I will bake.
I like to get my Christmas cards out early because I can’t wait to hear back from friends and family. I know I should stay in better touch all year long, but where does the time go? Days and months pass, and I still haven’t written or called. I hate that about myself. But I promise my Christmas card will be one of the first you receive sincerely wishing you a blessed holiday season.
“It’s that time of year when the world falls in love,” Karen Carpenter is singing. For me, one Christmas was spent dreaming about falling in love. It was my final Christmas without a boyfriend. But I wasn’t feeling sad. All those holiday romance songs and movies were a promise of what could happen to me someday, and I loved dreaming about the man I would marry. The next Christmas I was announcing my engagement to the man I have been married to for almost thirty years. Both are endearing Christmas memories for me!
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” sings Andy Williams. I agree! It’s that magically special time when friends, family and strangers come together to celebrate and make memories — when lending a hand, sharing a smile, showing more tolerance and patience comes naturally. If only we could all do those Christmas things all year through!
So although it’s been said many times, many ways, my friends, a very Merry Christmas to you! May your New Year’s dreams come true! And may you feel God’s peace and love embracing you and yours at Christmas and always!
