Sunday, December 25, 2005

Merry Texas Christmas, Ya'll

Merry Christmas one and all! Yes, I realize it is the 29th, but Christmas is still upon us, lest we forget the popular tune that reminds us repeatedly of the 12 Days belonging to Christmas. [A Side Note: I always found the gifts to be somewhat strange. As I am enticed by bright, shiny objects, the '5 golden rings' always excited me. Men, take note! What I would do with five golden rings, I don't know...perhaps wear one on each of my fingers? But I have always been mystified by the gifts for people: 10 Lords 'a Leaping, 9 Ladies dancing, etc. Seems a little extravagant, if you ask me, although I can't deny the lure of having 10 Lords at my disposal, leaping or otherwise...]

Christmas in the year of our Lord 2005 was most perplexing, indeed. Not only was it one of my busiest Christmases on record (hence the lack of blog entries), but it also produced numerous philosophical quandries.

My Christmas vacation began, as many archetypal journies do, with an trip to my homeland. As the plane touched down on the runway, my Spider Sense told me I was about to become locked in a tempestuous whirlpool of surreality. A visit to my hometown in the Panhandle will forever be a proverbial rest-stop on the Road to Wackiness. A wise man once said, "you can never go home again," and as much as I hate to put much creedence in oft-quoted, quasi-philosophical "wisdom," these words continue to ring true each time I visit home

Going home this Christmas was a lesson in learning to let go. If you have read my blog entry titled, "Homeward Bound-less," then you already know that my previous trip home this semster did not live up to any of my pre-conceived expectations. I thought my Yule Tide journey as "Meredith's Homecoming: Part Deux," except this time, the sequal was better than the original. My life has changed drastically in the four months I have lived in Austin, but change is universal and unilateral; as I have evolved during this past semester, so have my friends and family.

I realized that it is time to let go of old habits, bad feelings, and unrequited love. I realized that my place will always be with my family, regardless of the ebb and flow of my friendships and relationships with others. I am fortunate to be blessed with firm foundation of supporters who ceaselessely encourage me as I trudge through seminary. Their love both humbles and inspires me. When I am drowning in a sea of self-doubt, I pray that the memory of kind, encouraging words from my family, friends, and church, will buoy me to the surface.

1 comment:

astrocero said...

i hope you had a good christmas.
i had to say the use of deux, was that a thinly veiled reference to the charlie sheen masterpiece hot shots, part deux? if so bravo. on another note, i can empathize with the experience of having expectation when in a familiar surounding, and the let down of the reality of it happening in real time, one thing i have learned is i have learned to except change and begrudgingly accept it rather than resent the failings of my expectations, (ok rant off). take care and happy new year. adios