Dreaming of Ordinary Time, Part 1

“It’s so easy to dream of the days gone by.
It’s a hard thing to think of the time to come.”
- Bob Franke, Thanksgiving Eve

The Christmas season is drawing to a close, a new weaving project is pulling me into Ordinary Time.  I think all of our hearts are longing for some ordinary time.  The news has been dire.  Our prayer lists grow longer – friends and family who are ill, those who have died, comfort for their families.  And through it all, there are those who ignore the cries of the prophets and continue to “eat, drink and be merry.”

If only…  if only things could get back to normal.  Go back to the way things were. And yet, there is a growing understanding that going back is not an option.  We must find a new way to live and move and be.  

Part 2: Epiphanytide

Epiphany is discovery, but it’s more than just a sudden illuminating flash.  Most discoveries take time to unpack, to wrap our heads around.  Sometimes they even require an angel or two to set us on the right path (or keep us from the wrong one).   

I hope to fully embrace this Epiphanytide.  To learn and grow, as the Christ child did, in wisdom and understanding.  To fully accept this moment and use it to imagine a new ordinary time.  A more just, more merciful, more peaceful time.  And once imagined, to step closer to the new and better ordinary time.

“And the grace to accept every moment as a gift
Is a gift that is given to some.”  
- Bob Franke, Thanksgiving Eve