December, 2020
The other day I did a reading on someone who was very depressed and very angry at herself. She and her husband hadn’t saved enough money for retirement, and she was so anxious she could hardly do anything except sit and stare at the ceiling. Covid wasn’t helping anything, either, as she felt very lonely. This was in spite of family and friends bringing gifts of food and money and caring about her.
Up until about 3 months earlier, she had been cheerful and happy with her life. But then her mother had to go into the hospital, then went to rehab where she got really sick, and it now appears that her mother may never leave that place. That started this woman’s descent into depression. From there she went into her finances, discovered they were sparse, and she felt embarrassed and just trashed herself.
…the way she was perceiving her issues had completely taken over her space.
What I saw was that the way she was perceiving her issues had completely taken over her space. There was no room for her in there. Her anxiety and worry replaced her. She had lost sight of who she was, and had redefined her identity as being a stupid, self-critical person. She was lost within herself.
That sometimes happens to all of us….
That sometimes happens to all of us, where we get lost because we allow things from the outside to take over our space. These days it’s covid, the economy and fear taking over our space.
But now we’re in the holiday season. The holidays are about making room for ourselves, and seeing the light.
At our last church service, we celebrated Hanukkah and Christmas. We had asked all the attendees to bring a candle with them on zoom, and we celebrated the light by lighting the candles.
In Isaiah, it says
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Christmas is a time of celebration – and now we are celebrating the birth of Christ – something that all Christians, regardless of their particular religious philosophy, are doing. In some places people are still persecuted for this celebration, and they have to make room in spite of the external crowding of their space.
In the story of the birth of Christ it says, “There was no room for them in the inn”. But obviously they had a priority – they made room for themselves in a manger.
In this season, make room for yourself to have this celebration.
In this season, make room for yourself to have this celebration. Allow your pictures to fall silent. Allow your anxieties and worries to ground out. Make space so that you are totally present, and there is nothing to do except this. Wiggle around and see how much space you have.
In Luke it tells the story of the angel of the Lord appearing before the shepherds. They were working, keeping watch over their flock at night. Not only that, they were terrified. Today we would probably think that the angel was a UFO. But the shepherds left anyway; they left their livelihood, the sheep, plus they were afraid. But they made time and space to find Mary and Joseph and the baby.
They made time – a lot of time – to acknowledge and celebrate.
Even the magi – the wise men – came from the east, from afar. Who knows how far, or how many days or weeks they were traveling. They didn’t even know where they were going – it’s hard to follow a star, with no compass, no GPS system! Who knows how inconvenient it was for them? They might have been in the middle of important business transactions, or maybe one of their wives was pregnant, or maybe one of their sons was about to go in the army or graduate from college. Maybe they would rather have stayed in the comfort of their home. But they made time – a lot of time – to acknowledge and celebrate.
And the wise men brought gifts – they started this whole gift exchange tradition – you can blame them! But maybe they wanted to complete the gift exchange. The birth of Jesus brought the gift of the recognition of God among us, the present of God within us. So they gave gifts in return.
Let us celebrate the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of “God within us”.
But for now, and for Christmas day, and maybe for a few more days, let us celebrate the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of “God within us”. Say hello to God in your neighbor, your family, your friends, your spouse, your partner, others that you love. Say hello to the God within someone you resent. And of course say hello to the presence of God within you. Allow everyone to have a healing.
When you say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”, allow your words to express this spirit of Christmas. Merry Christmas to all of you.
As always, thanks for supporting Psychic Horizons & the Church of Natural Grace with your sustainable giving! It truly makes a difference, both for us and for you.
Best regards,
Rev. Laura Hopper
