Peace or Panic?


A few weeks ago, I was at the stove putting the final touches on Sunday dinner for the gang when AMH ran into the kitchen. dropped to his knees, pulled the vent cover out of the floor, and peered down into the darkness.  No harm was done, it was curiosity in real life and I was intrigued.  How did he discover the vent lifted out?  What was going on between his ears prompting his exploration of the venting system?  He was pleased with himself.  It was new territory, an unknown frontier down a dark vent to somewhere.  Watching our little people figure out their world is one of the highlights of Sunday dinner for me.

Once AMH knew the covers were removable he went through the main floor of the house gathering vent covers.  Imagine if you were my dinner guest and you began pulling the vent covers off bringing them to the kitchen to show me.  Picture yourself kneeling down to peer down into the darkness of a furnace vent with the wonder of a child.  Where does it go?  How does the warm air move through it?  Why is it in this corner instead of that one?  You and I both know, if you behaved that way all the adults would be exchanging looks of horror and fear.

They would be wondering something alright, but it would be along the lines of should we call the ambulance and tell them to bring the straitjacket.  Their wonder would be laced with panic instead of peace.  AMH's wonder was completely different, it was peaceful. He had no fear of being labelled crazy or even a fear of getting into trouble.  Nothing was being broken, he knew it was safe to stretch his curiosity that way and he was delighted with himself because he was learning.

I often wish for a similar sense of curiosity and wonder, especially where Christmas is concerned.  Christmas often gets stuck into a box for adults.  It seems there are two possible boxes; either you are a believer in the faith traditions or you are not.  We've lost the middle ground of exploring the peace of Christmas in a panic for political correctness.  Should we send a Christmas card or a Season's Greetings card?  If we say Merry Christmas to someone will they be offended or not?  Then there are the myriad of less than thoughtful voices on social media with even more polarizing opinions frequently lacking in love.

I confess to feeling somewhat overcome by the panic for political correctness even as the second week of Advent reminds me of Peace.  I don't want to press my faith onto anyone.  Yet I do want those who I interact with to know how much I love them and how much God loves them.  I've been peering down the dark vents wondering how to share my faith in a loving and respectful way with a world that maybe doesn't care.  On Sunday night the children pulled the vents off and showed me a new way of thinking.

It's okay to pull the vent covers off and explore ideas.  We can experience joy in learning how to understand something old in a new way.  There is room to remove our mental covers and try to understand how things are working.  Christmas is the perfect time to challenge ourselves to not be afraid to drop to our knees and discover how the spirit of God moves through this world quietly and unseen.  Our panic is replaced by peace when our spirits become curious.  If you are sick to death already of the jangly seasonal music, listen to The Tenors sing How Great Thou Art. May this second week of Advent be filled with peace instead of panic.


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