A Quieter Christmas
Christmas can be a noisy time of year. You find yourself in stores crammed with people, and at home you may be surrounded by family members and friends. Everywhere you go you hear tinny loudspeakers blaring Christmas carols that in another context might be soothing.Quiet is not just the toning down of sounds. It can also be visual order and stillness. At Christmas time you also run into visual noise everywhere you look. The lights, which can be a meaningful central feature of Christmas, tend to be overdone. The colors red and green assault you.
Becoming God’s Instruments
The need to be in control can be such a slippery slope on the spiritual journey: When do we take charge and act? When do we hold back and trust? So many of us live delusional lives and think we’re in charge not only of our lives but also of our holiness and soul training. And that is the very reason why frustration reigns supreme: We resist letting go and trusting in the fingers of the potter. We refuse to surrender. And yet, training the soul to become God’s instrument occurs only in the radical act of trust.
