As a Christian (I say that the most spiritual and not even slightly political sense), this season I often find myself sitting alone, contemplative, and thankful. Recently, I sat in such a reverie, my sole companions a blessedly steaming cup of coffee and an absolutely voluptuous bowl of chili. All the while, my favorite advent hymn phrase kept haunting me:
Where meek Souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.
And I kept wondering, what would it feel like when I finally Christ into my soul? What did I want Jesus to bring me for Christmas?
So I grabbed my pen and scribbled…..
– If sleep sweeps in each night with a mere closing of the eyes – like when you were ten…
– If your mind rests with ease – with no jolts of regret or stabbing recollections that bleed out unhealed memories…
– If that smile springs to your lips from frequent, pure joy – and is not donned as a defiant shield…
– If there are no foods, drinks, or engineered indulgences you lean on with increasing frequency to blanket yourself in brief contentment…
– If the joy of pursuing your ambition exceeds your anxiety over possibly not reaching it…
– If you are not haunted by emotional triggers…
– If you enjoy, but don’t require the adulation & approval of others…
– If you can endure success – another person’s, I mean…
– If your heart approves your habits – that tender care you give to you, and you’re thankful for the path you’re walking…
– If you feel pride in your behavior during your last conflict – group meeting – family gathering – and treatment of a stranger…
– If nothing in your life seems a sacrifice…
– If your own real concerns seem minor and offstage enough that you are finding greater anxiety in the plights of others…
– If you look back on your past without the balance of Success vs. Failure – but only with relish…
– If there is so much more you want to do – but nothing you feel ruthlessly driven to do…
– If each stranger, whatever the circumstance, is seen as an opportunity – not a threat or yardstick competitor…
– And if you rise up singing with a bellowsome joy that sets your teenage daughter blushing crimson with embarrassment…
Then you don’t need Jesus to Quickly Come…
In fact, I’ll wager the warm glow of holly & heart, He’s already there.
Wishing each of you the greatest joy this Christmas,
– Bart Jackson
