Old traditions...new meaning

Snow.Rain.Snow
I love snow! I don’t know if it’s cause I’m from the south and we associate snow with normal life standing still, buying all the milk and bread you could possible think of, and camping out in the living room waiting for the power to kick back on or if I just like the white stuff. For you Northerns, we had to wait for the power to come back, not because of our massive snow fall but because instead of snow storms we would get ice storms, but when you’re a kid snow and ice are about the same, they both get you out of school! But needless to say it snowed this past week and I absolutely loved it!
But all things must go away, the rains came and the snow has slowly been disappearing.
Today was just a great day! I love my church and am so proud of what is happening with in this community. God is working and moving and it’s so cool to watch and be a part of. This morning Pearl and I where late to the service (like usual, we’re never early to anything) and had to set in the nosebleed seats. We usually don’t sit up high, but when we do it’s a visual treat. We normally sit closer to the stage, but when you’re up high you are able to see everything, all the screens, lights, staging, and my favorite everyone else. Today as we expressed our love of God through music, one of the songs really hit me. This song is not new and to be honest I’ve been singing it literally most of my life; but as we sang this song I realize that I may never look at it the same again. The song was the Christmas carol “O come let us adore Him.” I’ve always enjoyed this song but I picture it being sing next to a live nativity, or Christmas play, or portrayed by a Norman Rockwell painting. But today as I stood in the nosebleed seats and joined in with another thousand people singing our lungs out, the words took a new meaning. This song is not only about a baby in a manger and some sheep, but it’s about broken people, people who’s lives are full of stories of pain, regret, shame, disappointment, and a list of other adjectives. It’s about families, students, senior citizens, divorced couples, golden couples, engaged couples, singles, and all those in between. It’s about heterosexuals, homosexuals, pro-war and anti-war advocates, it’s about musicians, and those who serve the world by keeping their mouth shut.

It’s a song about all kinds of people, from all kinds of backgrounds getting the fact that the God of the universe loves us so deeply and longs so hard for us to know him and for us to find pleasure in each other. As this sunk in, I stopped singing and just watched, as people from all over the spectrum said yes, let’s come together and adore Him. Let’s adore the one worthy of our affections. It was a cool moment, then I felt something in my pocket, a camera, so I sunk a picture, and went back to adoring.
Last couple of thoughts
We had a wonderful lunch with some dear friends, Clay and Lindsey. They grilled out and I ate up, I have a weakness for grilled meat. We had a ton of fun reconnecting and swapping stories about life but the center of attention was not the four humans in the room but the year old Rottweiler and 4 month old Coonhound (who look like twins)
playing their hearts out.
I think Zuri now has a life long friend, but needless to say shortly after coming home she found a bed and crashed.
Blessings to you and your house, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and that you find new meaning in old traditions.