Wrecking call...

Everyone loves Christmas.  Joyful music.  Chestnuts roasting o'er the open fire of our minds, if not our actual fireplace inserts.  The bell ringers clanging, the feel good gifts and parties and new clothes and toys and goodies.  The cookies and treats and egg nog.  The lutefisk and lefse, or whatever ethnic specialties you embrace, bringing loved ones together from near and far.  It is a season of joy and optimism for most, colorful, festive and fun.

Most people think of Christmas as the highlight of their year.  It is the ultimate holiday, a week of non-stop celebrating.  To prepare, we tear down our usual decorations, and our usual barriers, and we embrace the change of seasons.  We put up our special ornaments, raise the tree, hug a co-worker or friend.  Even snow seems less cold and more inviting in the rosy glow of the lights and bells.

Waiting...

Psalm 46 addresses the harsh realities of life.  Wars, pestilence, natural disasters - it is all there.  But at the end of the chapter, we come to this in verse 10:

Be still and know that I am God.

We are helpless against the forces of nature.  We cannot control the continents or the oceans.  We can't stop epidemics.  We don't have the power to control other nations.  We are divided and angry with those who are not like us, or who think differently from us, even in our own nation, and our own families.  Life is an uproar in this fast paced world we live in.  And then we get this simple message.