Christmas 2005

Well, it was quite the Christmas this year. I went to bed this morning at about 2:30 a.m. and arose again at about 7:30 a.m. to get ready for church. Our pastor did an excellent job, as usual, of bringing the word of God right to the door of our hearts -- at least, I found that to be the case. One of his prayers for us today was that anyone with a heaviness in their heart (paraphrased) have it lightened -- I pray for that today....

I've always been artistically inclined and fairly subject to deep emotions -- deep happiness as well as deep sadness. And most times, I am happy for that, as I regard it as intense living. But once in a while, even-keeled seems a better way to go. This is one of those times.

A friend of mine (Emily -- link on the right) wrote a poem about brokenness which talks about being broken like glass. That is close to what I feel like, except it is more like my heart is being shred with shards of glass. Why?

A Friend

Lord, I lift a friend of mine to you
I ask you now to see him through
The tests and trials he will face
I pray you help him win the race.

Don't Weep For Me

Some look at me and sigh because
They see what once they thought I was
Don’t weep for me
I weep for thee.

Some look at me with sympathy
My clothes are old, my time is free
Don’t weep for me
I weep for thee.

Some look at me with great disdain
Of my possessions few remain
Don’t weep for me
I weep for thee.

Some think I’ve failed, have not prevailed
From God they say I’ve not availed
Don’t weep for me
I weep for thee.

Some pierce my heart with words to hurt
To baser instincts they revert
Don’t weep for me
I weep for thee.

Some walk past me, refuse to see
Some others laughing, mocking me
Don’t weep for me
I weep for thee.

Some others lie and just stand by
Their faith, hope, love have gone awry
Don’t weep for me
I weep for thee.

Some can’t sit still against their will
Like animals they seek to kill
Don’t weep for me
I weep for thee.

But worst of all some stand so tall
They know what's right but yet they fall
Don’t weep for me
I weep for thee.

Day 3

Annabella twisted and turned and twisted and turned some more, but still could not see who was speaking to her with such a soothing and melodic voice. In fact, she couldn’t see any other ornaments on the tree at all and thought “How strange! I saw so many ornaments when I saw the tree from far away earlier. Where did they all go?” Of course, she couldn’t really twist upwards to see if there were other ornaments above her on the tree. “Maybe that’s where they are,” she thought.
“Annabella,” she said in little more than a whimper now.
“What’d she say?” asked a low, growly voice.
“I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know!” repeated a high-pitched, impatient voice.
“Well, someone oughta tell her to SPEAK UP if she’s got anything worthwhile to say!” said the low, growly voice.
“I know, I know, I know!” replied the high-pitched, impatient voice.
“Now Grumples,” said the soothing voice, “please quiet down your big bear voice a bit, and Squeaky, please stop repeating yourself in that annoying mouse chatter. Perhaps we can figure out who this ballerina is and get to know a bit about where she came from.”
“Just wait a moment,” a clipped, firm voice spoke up. “I think you will all agree that given my history as a soldier on this tree and the many medals I have on my uniform, I should be the one asking questions of any new arrivals. I am the best qualified of all of us to determine if this new arrival is a “plant” or someone we can trust to follow our protocols and procedures.”
Soft groans and some snickers were heard throughout the tree.
“Now, Captain,” the soothing voice seemed even sweeter than it had before, “let’s not overwhelm anyone with procedures and protocols without welcoming them first. Young lady, would you be so kind as to say your name a bit louder – this is a large tree, and everyone would like to know who you are.”
“My name is Annabella,” said the young ballerina.
“Annabella…..Annabella….. Annabella…..,” her name was echoed around the tree.

Day 2

“Pssssstt….ssssshhhh……” Little by little, whispers of small voices intruded into the silence. Annabella opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. She had been so afraid when her carrier approached the tree, that she shut her eyes as tightly as she could. But now, as she opened them, she could see that she had been put on one of the bottom branches of the tree. She looked down and a small squeak escaped her lips – there was nothing between she and the floor which looked very hard and far away. “What will happen if I fall,” she cried to herself. “Surely my legs will break! And if my legs break, I will lose my beauty and forever be removed from the tree.” Annabella wanted to shut her eyes again and hope that the fear would go away, but she forced herself to raise her eyes.

“Pssssstt…..ssssshhh……” Annabella heard the whispers again. She looked to her left and right. “What dazzling lights!” There were little white, yellow, red, green, blue, purple, and orange lights, twinkling on and off.

“Pssssstt…..ssssshhh…..” Annabella couldn’t stand it any longer, gathered up her courage and spoke out in the strongest voice she could muster up – “Who is whispering there and why don’t you speak up? It is quite rude to whisper, you know. And frankly, I am lonely here and wouldn’t mind some company!” The whispers stopped completely.

She waited, and waited, and waited. Silence.

“Well, we didn’t want to scare you any more than you were already, so we thought we would try and be quiet for a while and let you get adjusted to your new situation. But, since you are eager, exactly who are you?”