Journeys 12-10-06

Journeys 12-10-06

The List.

Only 15 days until Christmas! It still seems far away. If you haven’t made your Christmas list yet, you still have time, barely. I have grown up around list makers. My Mom makes Christmas lists. My Grandma made a Christmas list. I keep my “To Do,” list on my Palm Pilot.

Cindy has always been a Christmas list maker, especially the year Zack was born. Zack came into the world on Christmas Eve, 1990 at 3:30 p.m. at St. Francis Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. Imagine the intensity of the list of a pregnant nesting pastor mom in Advent! We were ready for Christmas two weeks early, just in case.

At this stage in the game, your list may still seem possible: get the lights up outside – check; tree up inside – check; boxes mailed to east coast – check; stamps bought for annual Christmas epistle – check. With 15 days until “the day,” our lists still calm the soul. You can’t forget Aunt Suzy, she’s on your list.

Next week, the list will reverse its energy. Instead of reducing anxiety, it will cause it. Because by then, the number of items on your list will be growing, not shrinking.

May God bless our lists this week. Thank God humanity was on God’s list 2000 years ago. This week, may we discern how God’s list and our lists coincide. Please God, help keep me off my wife’s list. And God, help me find my list. It was just here and now its gone!

Grace & Peace,