Originally written on Dec. 26, 2008 for Town Hall
As I write today, I sit inside a coffee shop in the beautiful, breath taking, Santa Cruz Mountains, typing by a window, overlooking a refreshing creek. I come here at least once a year to take my annual walk with God.
My calendar says: December 26th. Despite the obvious border marking of that date, Christmas is far from over. I personally begin my Christmas celebration in November and I continue through March. The older I get, the more I gather serenity from this wonderful time of music, decoration and remembrance. As the world grows cold around us, there is another kind of cold, the crisp cold of Fall and Winter, two seasons bridged together by Christmas.
These woods are close to San Jose, where I have been staying the past two days, because in-laws from my broken marriage welcomed me back to my home city. Along with four children I am proud of, I shared a fun, nostalgic holiday with dear family members. At this moment, I am thinking about my kids, thinking about my walk, thinking about my life, thinking about my God, and thinking about my future.
How grateful to meditate from the heart of a majestic redwood forest, enhanced with the decorative splendor of Christ’s birth.
For me, Christmas causes time itself to stand still. With each carol on my CD or radio, I can recall the exact year I heard the tune for the very first time, from childhood (before I met God and before I was even celebrating Christmas) to the early years of adult hood, to the mellowness of my middle age which seems (so far) to ripen with grace, like a wine reaching its peak, like a warmed soul cherishing life more and more with every passing moment.
Does God move heaven and earth a little closer together at Christmas time? I have often wondered.
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