The Pastor's Pen
Before We Put the Tree Away...
The Halloween candy is on the store shelves, and I have the uneasy feeling that someone has already pressed the fast-forward button on the rest of the year.
I haven’t bought the candy yet, but somehow I already feel behind on taking down the Christmas tree.
You know how it goes. October gets rolling, and suddenly we’re making Thanksgiving plans. Then come the Christmas gatherings, the shopping, the services, and the question of where we put that box of decorations. Before we know it, we’re packing everything away and trying to remember to write a different year on our checks. For those of us still writing checks, that adjustment can take until March.
There is much to enjoy in these months. But sometimes we spend so much time getting ready for the next thing that we barely notice the thing we’re living right now.
A cool morning. A conversation over coffee. Someone laughing so hard at the dinner table that the story never quite gets finished. An ordinary evening with someone whose presence we have come to take for granted.
These moments rarely announce themselves as important. They simply arrive, offering us a little of the goodness of being alive.
I wonder how many we hurry past.
The psalmist asks God to “teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart” (Psalm 90:12). Perhaps part of that wisdom is learning to give this day our attention, even while tomorrow’s plans are waiting.
We cannot make October last longer. But we can linger for a few minutes in a conversation. We can put down the phone and listen. We can step outside, notice the air, and offer a quiet thank-you. We can tell someone we’re glad they are here.
And for those who find the coming holidays difficult, paying attention to today may offer its own kindness. We don’t have to carry the whole season at once. Today’s company, today’s strength, today’s small comfort can be enough for now.
Soon enough, we will be putting the Christmas decorations away and writing 2027. Between now and then, there is a life to be lived – and God is already here in it.
The Halloween candy is on the store shelves, and I have the uneasy feeling that someone has already pressed the fast-forward button on the rest of the year.
I haven’t bought the candy yet, but somehow I already feel behind on taking down the Christmas tree.
You know how it goes. October gets rolling, and suddenly we’re making Thanksgiving plans. Then come the Christmas gatherings, the shopping, the services, and the question of where we put that box of decorations. Before we know it, we’re packing everything away and trying to remember to write a different year on our checks. For those of us still writing checks, that adjustment can take until March.
There is much to enjoy in these months. But sometimes we spend so much time getting ready for the next thing that we barely notice the thing we’re living right now.
A cool morning. A conversation over coffee. Someone laughing so hard at the dinner table that the story never quite gets finished. An ordinary evening with someone whose presence we have come to take for granted.
These moments rarely announce themselves as important. They simply arrive, offering us a little of the goodness of being alive.
I wonder how many we hurry past.
The psalmist asks God to “teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart” (Psalm 90:12). Perhaps part of that wisdom is learning to give this day our attention, even while tomorrow’s plans are waiting.
We cannot make October last longer. But we can linger for a few minutes in a conversation. We can put down the phone and listen. We can step outside, notice the air, and offer a quiet thank-you. We can tell someone we’re glad they are here.
And for those who find the coming holidays difficult, paying attention to today may offer its own kindness. We don’t have to carry the whole season at once. Today’s company, today’s strength, today’s small comfort can be enough for now.
Soon enough, we will be putting the Christmas decorations away and writing 2027. Between now and then, there is a life to be lived – and God is already here in it.
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