It was good to have last week off for some rest time before the onset of December. The weather was gorgeous!! I made cookies and muffins, went for a couple of walks, visited with my mother in St. Catharines and generally enjoyed not having a routine. The gift of time was a joy and delight. Thank you to Greg for covering the Sunday service and Ruthanne for covering any pastoral emergencies.

That gorgeous weather has certainly changed to cold and snow. It looks lovely and quite beautiful until I have to go out in it and brush off the car. Then not so much. But alas it is only the beginning!!

As I return to work, there is now much to do with the beginning of Advent and the preparations leading to Christmas. There is a note below of what to expect. Although, we do need to be prepared that things could well change given the course that Covid 19 takes in these next weeks. I am excited and looking forward to the various ways we will still prepare for and celebrate the birth of Jesus and all that means to us in our lives of faith. Christmas won't be cancelled, not even because of a pandemic. It will be different for sure. But we will celebrate the gift of Emmanuel, God here with us especially during such a time as this.

Deflated

This image speaks to me in an experience we had last week with one of our cars. We were in the Walmart parking lot getting ready to open the car door when a woman was flagging us down asking if we knew we had a flat tire. We didn't know, but when we got out and looked, the drivers side rear tire was almost out of air, deflated!! There was no doubt when we filled it that there was a substantial leak because within no time it was flat again. As a result it needs to be repaired before we can drive it. And given the time of year, there were no appointments available for almost two weeks. Thankfully we don't have to go far these days, we have the spare "donut" we can use and we have a second car available to us.

I thought, out of this experience, that it's equally possible that many of us may feel like we're deflated as we experience these days of Covid 19. Do you feel like all the air has leaked from you? As you watch the news and hear the latest count of positive cases do you feel deflated and drained? When there is talk of further lockdowns and restrictions do you feel flat? And all of this applies to us in a holistic way ... body, mind and spirit because as human beings with human spirits in a divine relationship with God we live in the moment of the present, dealing with how we are impacted in very real ways.

On the one hand, I know when I'm stressed or feeling deflated in my spirit, whether it's due to Covid 19 or something else going on, it's easy for me to resort to eating and especially junk food. I know that that isn't the healthiest of approaches I could take. But in the moment it feels good, tastes good and provides a quick fix to the other things I might be feeling or experiencing.

For our flat tire, the donut is a quick fix solution that is temporary similar to my eating when I'm stressed. That too is a temporary solution that really doesn't make me feel better in the long run. The chips or cookies or nuts don't relieve the reality of what's happening and how I end up feeling ... they don't re-inflate me when I feel deflated. I know I need a longer lasting solution that can help me with what is at the center of my experience and bring healing and wholeness into what I am going through.

One of the gifts we are blessed with in those times when we're feeling deflated spiritually is our relationship with God. And yet, how many of us see turning to God as a first step. Sometimes I do, but not always because it's so easy to feel trapped and distracted by the worldly concerns that are a reality and are having an impact on us. 

Jesus told us to come to him when we are weary ... when we are deflated ... and he will give us rest ... he will re-inflate us in our spirits. God wants us to be full of His life giving Spirit that brings us peace and healing when we are disturbed and hurting. 

Later this week, the mechanic will install new snow tires on our car. Who can we turn to to help us spiritually? What rhythm can we embrace that will help us when we're feeling deflated and life feels flat? Who is the mechanic who will help us when we are in need of any kind and feeling unsettled in these uncertain times?

Just like my car and my tires need attention and maintenance ... so too do our spiritual lives and our relationships with God. We are about to head into Advent as we prepare for Christmas. There's no doubt will be a different kind of celebration this year. The griefs we feel may well compromise our joy and leave us feeling deflated. Ask yourself now what you can do to engage with that story of God's incarnation that is at the center of our lives as followers of Jesus. Think about joining in the zoom series "Covid 19 Christmas"; watch for the weekly video reflections on hearing the prophets in our time; enter into the weekly Advent worship that will focus on hope, faith, joy and peace in pandemic times; plan to join in the Old Tyme Carol Sing on line; look for the Online Video Lessons and Carols service; enter into the liturgy marking the Longest and Darkest Night of the year; plan how you will worship on Christmas Eve whether in person or via the internet.

In these days of the Covid 19 Pandemic and in these weeks leading up to our celebration of Christmas, let's be attentive to all that might lead us to feel deflated. But let's turn to Jesus who said, "It is the spirit that gives life ... the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."