Day 21. Unplanned Musing of the Heart

photo: pixabay.com

A stream of consciousness journaling. Nothing planned, just what bubbled up when I sat down at my computer...

I can get so immersed in Christmas during December that I sometimes feel a jarring when the dailiness of life smacks me in the face, reminding me that life is still going on as 'normal' in the world around me. People are still trudging off to work, going to dental appointments, getting their vehicle's winter tires on, sitting in traffic or emergency rooms with sick kids. Radio and television stations still hourly radiate bad news. And, unfortunately, there still are 'nutballs' loose on our streets who deliberately fly drones to create chaos at major airports for holiday travellers. W-h-a-t ? ?

A person wishes she could turn all that off for all of us, at least for one day of the year, just as the soldiers did during World War I when the British and German soldiers, for a moment on Christmas Eve, stopped being enemies. And they sang Christmas carols together, shared food they got in parcels from home, and were just the nice, ordinary young men they were before the war started.

It's a deep longing in my heart that we could stop all the crazy nonsense and wickedness, and let kindness rule the waves. Let joy, peace, hope fill the air we breath. Let love seep back into the frozen places of our toes and souls. To forget about whose side we're on, and what ceiling we're trying to fight through, because for a little while at least Love Reigns. And we catch a glimpse of a little heaven on earth. And every single heart feels it. I guess that's the deep down prayer of my heart. That every single heart would feel the Love and be changed by it.

I glance at the photo I selected for this post. What has Kitty got to do with these musings? Nothing really, except that I am drawn to her sweet face and gentle curiosity. I want to run my fingers through her soft fur and have her purr at my touch. For Jesus loves little kitties too. And I want a world where kitties and little children are safe. "...all creatures great and small, the good Lord loves them all..." 

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Late last night I read Lorrie's lovely post at Fabric Paper Thread where she mentioned having momentarily lost her sparkle of Christmas but then told us how she found it again. She asked her readers how their own holiday sparkle was doing. I was happy to say that for us at our house, the spark of excitement and anticipation has been building all week. Last minute things going on, but we're almost ready for the festivities to begin in earnest. Hubby and I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday afternoon with two items on the shopping list: homemade sweet cabbage rolls (for Christmas Day) and the French Canadian Tourtière meat pie dish (for Christmas Eve). We happened upon a lovely display of homemade Christmas baking by one of the vendors. Having sampled one toothsome concoction, we snapped up a couple of packages to add to our holiday sweet treat tray. Except for the fruitcake and lemon loaves for the neighbours, holiday baking was not on my to-do list this year, although I may still bake a few mince tarts and some tiny sugar cookies in the shapes of stars and snowflakes.

Yes, it's almost here. So what do I do about the musing of my heart? Not to be simplistic, but I have learned over the years that joy and the poignant, almost sorrowful longing can live together in one heart. One doesn't exclude the other. But sorrow doesn't have to be queen. The joy we take in life's good gifts can give us strength and courage in other more grievous situations. Life is often a mix of bittersweet, and we learn to take joy where we can even when our world isn't perfect. I take hope in the words that I often write inside my Christmas cards. "Love came down at Christmas . . . Star and angels gave the sign." Words by Christina Rossetti. Love came down, and if I let it, it will throb in my heart and pulse out towards my dear ones, neighbours, and those we might even consider enemies.

And so, I'm wishing you dear readers joy in your world
with pockets full of love to keep your finger tips warm
on this last Friday before Christmas. Thank you for keeping faith
with me as I write here on It's A Beautiful Life.

With love,

Brenda

xox

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