Pursuit of Peace

From my vantage point it all blurs together. The holiday hustle. Cards on the table waiting to be sent, pile of boots in the entry, revolving door of laundry, dishes in sink after baking. But I've set it in my mind to get on with the next thing on my holiday to-do list.

And I see it here, how the clutter of life can be the outward manifestation of the inward clutter of the heart. A tangle of thoughts loops through my mind like a string of lights needing untangling. And I hear that timeless song loop through the mp3 player, “Peace on Earth, good will toward men.”

In my rush to get on with the cookie baking for the annual party, I knock the bag of sugar on the floor as I reach for something else.

The holiday season can be like this, when we get swept up in the frenetic race of perceived needs and engagements. For some of us, it's all we can do to survive the daily struggle of gleaning sustenance from the toil onto the table. Our bellies growl with the aching-empty. You can hear how the world groans to be filled.