Momentous

As I search for my pair of Frank Barone stretchy pants, my grandparents continue laboring away on Brazilian delicacies and my wife constructs a gingerbread house with the children. I sure hope I can find those pants before the stroke of midnight, when our weeklong food festival reaches its culmination.

Over the course of the night, we will indulge ourselves with great food and company, but let’s not forget why we are here. And I do not mean simply replacing Merry Christmas with Jesus is the reason for the season. I implore you to not let one more Christmas enter the books with lip service, but let the gravity of the event sink in. Athansius once wrote,

“Only the creator can redeem the creation…[thus] what else could He possibly do, being God, but renew his Image in humanity, so that they might once more come to know him.”

So as laughs are ready to roll and new memories ready to be forged, do not forget (or come to realize) that there is something greater at work. Borrowing from Thomas Aquinas, recognize that there is something – be it Santa Claus, good food, or quality time with ones you care about – around this time that points beyond itself to something greater. Nothing is more wasteful than a life unexamined and nothing more sad than missing a beat to recognize purpose in your life.

Take a second. Step back from the table. If our lives on Earth weren’t finite, no moment we’d experience would be urgent, precious or momentous. Let’s make this Christmas one that will be felt by our future generations.

Prologue or interlude?

Transitions. I’ve been told there are several in life. My gut tells me there are only a few that matter. In spite of our self-conscious decision that we will always remain the same… cool, collected, 'du jour' …we change. No matter our resolve.

Interests. Perspectives. Attitudes. They shift.

Funny thing is that the transition begins as an unconscious effort, but midway through it, it dawns on you. More than likely when you find yourself enjoying something that you previously detested. “Wait, didn’t I hate cutting mushrooms? Hmmm this wine has a pungent smell.” Next thing you know you’re going through cookbooks and using words such as complexity, character and finishing to describe your beverages.

What does this mean? Age is obvious. But there has to be more to that. I’m not sure exactly what, but one thing I do know is that while others can warn you about ‘crossing overs’, they cannot tell you what it means...or feels like. To each his own as the saying goes. A critical person, a cynic perhaps, will immediately tell you its part of a cycle that will ultimately lead to crisis...and while trials will come, our paths are decided by us. God wouldn’t have it any other way.

So here I am. Doing the unthinkable only months ago. Using the written word to help me understand my transition(s) and the newfound joys, successes and failures that stem from them. And probably more importantly what these experiences mean.