Looking for Some Sparkle

We start our Scripture Circles with a question. One of my favorite questions is,

“Where are you?”

It’s a different way of asking how someone is that allows for some creative answers. For the past few years, I’ve answered that I am in the wilderness of Beersheba, hunkered down and tending a well for people who are passing through the wilderness. There’s a lot to unpack with that statement, but that’s not for this blog. 

What I want to talk about  is how living in the wilderness has been going for this season of Advent and Christmas (amongst many other significant holidays). 

For those of us who are deconstructing, reconstructing, or trying to construct, this season can be difficult. 

Some of us have returned to church on a regular basis. Some of us are not planning on returning. I’m a maybe; undecided about how and when and if I want to engage in the practice that was integral to my life for many years. I’ve grown rather fond of the wilderness because of the freedom that it offers me. I like being able to decide if something feels life-giving or not. I like that there is less pressure to “should” on myself and my family while I am out in the wilderness. 

I think I’m just missing some of the sparkle. 

This season used to hold a lot of sparkle for me. I loved to pick out my Advent practice and studies, and find candlelight services to attend. Everything had a bit of shimmer to it. I haven’t done any of that this year and I have been really missing it. The wilderness isn’t very sparkly.

This past weekend I told Jeremiah that I wanted him to take me driving to go looking at lights. It turned out that Nick and his girlfriend wanted to come along, too. And you know what I found? SPARKLE. Not because of the lights, which were great, but because a number of the houses that went all out. There were Santas, Elves, Grinches, and candy canes! Honestly, the joy was contagious. There were smiles and greetings and everyone was not seen as a stranger, but as a friend.  After years of divisiveness and hard stuff, it was magical. 

It turns out that I found what I was missing for this season at 8238 Copland Way. 

I’m often tempted to think it’s wrong to find the joy and sparkle outside of Jesus during Christmas. But like all things, joy and sparkle are not binary.

Many of you posted about the beauty of the snow-covered paths and trees this past week and found the sparkle in nature. Most of us in Minnesota were taking pictures and sharing them with everyone we knew.  

I’m sure that each of us have stories about where we find the sparkle during this season. Maybe we need to share them and  remind each other how to find it. 

For those who have a church and community that you love and is sparkly, I wish you a very merry Christmas. For those who are in a wilderness journey or do not have a church or community that you love, I wish you love and joy in unexpected places. For all of us, whether it’s nature, and/or Santa, and/or Jesus, I hope that we find some sparkle this season. I hope we can spread it around to everyone we encounter because we all need more of it. 

Here for the sparkle,

Lisa

PS – We know that holiday gatherings can come with some feels, so we wanted to give you a little something that you can pull out as a conversation starter. I’ll be using it with my family!  Download our 2022 Christmas Resource: The Manger and the Herodium