Perpetual Amnesia

"There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal. And their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors….Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to our senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat - the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden." C.S. Lewis The Weight of Glory

It is as though i suffer from perpetual amnesia as i stumble through my life. In the silence of the night, with no one disturbing my tranquil musings, the Truth seems so clear and simple to embrace. But bring on the day, and my memory dissolves into the quotidian cacophony of life.

What if i were able to sustain holy reverence toward those nearest and dearest to me for an hour each morning? What if i was able to sustain that reverence until noon?  What if i could remember to look for Christ hidden in my neighbor? What if i learned to see it every time?

May God grant me strength to hold on to this Truth and not forget.

Finnish Christmas [JOULU]

[Christmas is long past and i don't know why i did not post this then, but the sentiments remain as true today as they were back in December]

This time of year always makes me homesick for Finland. I have such fond memories of Christmas as a child. Janne is heading there this Wednesday and i am so happy for him. I hope that he will experience some of that tranquility and peace that only seems to happen in our dear homeland.

Janne on Santa's knee in Finland…check out his Nokia wellingtons...

Melukylän lasten joulu iloa. (Children's Christmas joy)

Finnish Christmas illustration by Martta Wendelin (below)

Birds are well tended to during the winter.

The Christmas Peace (Joulu Rauha) is declared over all the land at noon on Christmas Eve and all the hustle and bustle of quotidian life winds down to serene observance of Christ's birth.

Shops are closed, buses and trains stop running, and people gather together with friends and family to celebrate Christmas.

Presents are opened on Christmas eve. After the candle-lit church service, a festive meal and a joulu-sauna the household gathers to await Santa's arrival. Santa Claus (joulupukki) visits the family with his sack-full of gifts asking if there are any good girls and boys in the household. Children perform a song or poem they have memorized and Santa hands out the presents. Children are usually allowed to stay up as long as the want to play with their presents while the grownups settle in for the wondrous night. Christmas Day is spent at home quietly enjoying the most relaxing day of the year. Traditionally, Boxing Day - the day after Christmas (Tapaninpäivä), is spent visiting with friends and children often go skating, sledding or cross-country skiing. 

While I have developed a real fondness for the American Christmas, i do wish that it had a little more serenity. I miss the nationwide observance of this holy day that allows for everyone to disconnect simultaneously as opposed to struggling to jump off a fast-moving  merry-go-round that keeps spinning even when we have managed to fling ourselves off for a moment, only to brave stepping back on without missing a beat.

I found myself feeling so overwhelmed by the busyness of Christmas this year that i actually could not wait for it to be over, so i took decisive steps to preempt this from happening next year by putting in for vacation time; not so that i could spend it running around like a harried holiday-shopper but so that i could prepare my heart and home to receive the Christmas Peace at noon on Christmas Eve.

The quiet warmth of Christmas, friendly words, good will, light and joy!

Making The Clouds Move

There is a great word in Finnish to describe someone's (my) personality, "kulmikas". It means corner'y or angular, and it connotes someone who does not easily assimilate or conform in society, or could also mean someone who is "hard to get along with". Those who know me would most likely not impute this characteristic to me but, however i may appear to my friends and family, i very much feel like a corner'y person. In my inward being, I am constantly dealing with squalls of dissatisfaction, a critical spirit and a monstrous pride that infects and spoils so many beautiful moments and golden opportunities.

It's a dark and ugly cloud that descends over my mind, obscuring the light and beauty that exists all around me as real as the air i breathe. 

The remedy for this plague is simple yet one of the hardest things to do when one is consumed by the cloud: stop thinking about yourself and focus on making someone else happy, no matter how crappy you may be feeling about yourself. 

There is no quicker and more foolproof way to make the clouds part than fixing your eyes beyond yourself. You must run in the direction you least feel like going toward in order to escape because that's how the enemy has set the trap - to make us think and feel like we simply cannot and should not (are not fit to) be with others much less help anyone. 

It is our Heavenly Father's desire that we not live in fear or imprisoned in the clouds of the enemy's making. And we must never forget that anything that separates us from our brother and sisters or our Father is by the enemy's design. That being said, everyone of us will find ourselves in a cloud at one time or another and i hope that when you do find yourself in that place, you will remember that you are not abandoned. Nothing can separate you from the LOVE of Christ.


        "Where can i go from Your Spirit?
         Or where can i flee from Your presence?
         If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
         If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
         If I take the wings of the morning,
         And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
         Even there Your hand shall lead me,
         And Your right hand shall hold me.
         If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me,"
         Even the night shall be light about me;
         Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
         But the night shines as the day;
         The darkness and the light are both alike to You." Psalm 138:7-12