Life feels like an unassembled Ikea dresser these days. Pieces are scattered across the floor and the instructions to put it together make no sense. Where are the clearly written step-by-step directions for the novice?
None of us have ever lived through a pandemic. We are all novices. Without specific directions, how do we put our lives together so we can hold the full weight of human emotions like love and fear, joy and sorrow, hope and frustration?
I keep turning to our spiritual ancestors for help. In the absence of clear, specific instructions, they learned to rely on faith. Time and time again in Scripture, angels startled ordinary people with shocking news. Though they appeared to different people at different times, the heavenly hosts essentially brought the same message: "Drop everything. Give up your old life and strike out to build a new one for God."
After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph must have thought that they had seen the last of heavenly hosts. Finally, they could return home with divine glory swaddled in their arms. But then a message came to Joseph in a dream telling them God had other plans. To protect that bundle of joy, they had to flee to Egypt. I doubt they realized that divine strength grew within them as the burden of fear, grief, doubt, and frustration weighed against them. They just did the next right thing, took the next step, and tried to trust that God was in the midst of their struggle.
May God inspire us to do the same on this strange Advent journey. Do the next right thing. Take the next right step. Trust that God is in the midst of our struggle. In the absence of traditions we love, we may be tempted to linger at the alter of Christmas past. May God find us there and assemble the pieces of our broken hearts so we can hold love and hope and peace and joy -- even as we bear the weight of fear, grief, doubt and frustration.
