Traditions are an important part of everyone’s culture. The holidays, for my family and me, are
steeped in tradition. When it comes to food, there is always lefse, chocolate
mint sandwich cookies, and eggnog.
Typically there are Swedish meatballs or ham balls and company hash
browns. We usually sing Christmas songs
in four-part harmony at least once, light the advent wreath and exchange gifts
on Christmas Eve. In addition, there are
favorite holiday movies to watch, Muppets Christmas Carol, How the Grinch Stole
Christmas and The Santa Clause (1, 2, &3) to name a few. Christmas at home (and sometimes abroad)
includes a worship service with either a lively pageant and/or a contemplative
candlelight service.
My family recently watched the Muppets Christmas Carol, and
for the first time the wisdom of this story spoke to me. Live in the past, present and future. You know the story: the humbug Ebenezer
Scrooge is met by three spirits each hoping to change his attitude and open his
heart to the world around him. In a
matter of a few pages, or in our case less than two hours of sidesplitting
muppet humor, Scrooge discovers that his past reminds him of true love and
happiness as a young man and the choices he made to further his career. He is blindsided by the image his community
has of him and his selfish and greedy ways and he is faced with the prospect of
leaving this earth unloved and unwanted by anyone.
As I experienced this movie this year, I was overcome with
the notion that we must not solely live in one of these three worlds. Our lives are meant to fulfill many
purposes. We might be a comforter for
someone, an encourager for another, or a warrior for whatever it is that drives
our deepest passions. We also might need
to take time to regroup, to realign what it is that we feel called to do. By looking back into our past we can learn
from mistakes and successes, cherish memories and notice what brings us joy and
what causes pain.
By living the in the present we are called to truly focus on
the here and now. What am I choosing
today and how does it affect me, my family, friends and neighbors
worldwide? The choices I make have an
impact on our whole world and I can choose to see it and act accordingly…or
not.
Living in the future is hard for me. Although I am mostly an optimist, I am also a
self-diagnosed “catastrophizor.” I often
play out scenarios in my head that, of course, end badly. It was my mom that finally made me realize
that “different” isn’t always “bad.” And
that, for me is where faith takes over.
I am coming to realize that when I catastrophize, I am basically saying
I can’t do it, or more shockingly, god can’t do it. It is true that the future is
unpredictable. You can think you are on
a particular path and then suddenly, your gifts are being used in very
different ways. What you need in
illuminating your path is the faith and wisdom to be present, learn from your
past and not be afraid of your future – whatever it may be.
