Tis' the season, right?...A few weeks ago, shortly after Black Friday if my memory serves me correctly, I posted a Christmas flashmob youtube video. The song of the flashmob was the Christmas carol...Do You Hear What I Hear? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihJ5GDBc_BA&feature=share I know you have woken up with a song on your heart. Well that particular day, I woke up with this song and I thought this particular youtube was a pretty good depiction of what I was feeling. (This video is sponsored by an organization for which I don't personally advocate, so don't misunderstand my sharing the link, simply sharing). But that day I was particularly saddened by what I had been seeing on the nightly news concerning shoppers and this season. Greed is probably the best word to describe what I saw. Unfortunately, some shoppers' actions escalated to even violence.
As I confessed on my Facebook page, I have always shopped on Black Friday. I enjoyed getting up crazy early, the coffee stop and even the long lines just to get that bargain. However, when Black Friday starting creeping into Thursday and Thanksgiving, I wanted to put on the brakes! Stores starting their hour deals before my dessert was even fully digested!!! My thoughts were, honestly, we can't even give thanks before we start creeping for the next thing we don't really need. Notice, I said we. I am as guilty as the next shopper.
We fill our lives with all of this stuff that ultimately means relatively nothing in the whole scheme of life. Our deal ends up being something else to clean, re-gift or throw away in a year or two when it doesn't sell at our summer yard sale. So this season, my Black Friday perspective was shaken. Perspective is important. A former Pastor of mine would tell us frequently, how you see life is how you are going to live it.
So that day the song "Do You Hear What I Hear"...spoke to me about seeing and perspective. What is our life focused on from day to day? If you check out the lyrics...the night wind spoke to the lil lamb, the lil lamb spoke to the shepherd boy, the shepherd boy spoke to the mighty king. First, the wind's perspective was shaken and changed...the wind saw the star. The lil lamb heard and it's focus was changed...Are you getting the idea? Seeing affects, hearing...hearing affects knowing and knowing affects what is proclaimed. The king said, "listen to what I say...".
Our day to day life, both spiritual and natural, is about seeing, hearing, knowing and proclaiming. The wind, lamb, shepherd and king were about their daily lives when one of them changed perspective and saw! This started a chain reaction and they all witnessed the miraculous. We all have the capacity to see more clearly, hear more accurately, know more intimately and finally proclaim with authority. Immanuel, God with Us, makes that possible. So with only about nine days left in this "shopping" season...may His Goodness and His Light shine upon you...overtake you...draw you in..so that you see, hear, know and proclaim the Truth of this season! Start a chain reaction...
Amen well received !!!
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