I've looked back over the years I have been blogging, and I always blog on our district's Christmas party. Because of Barbara Webb's preparatory work and the beautiful setting of Richmond UMC and the dinner they prepared, through the good preaching of Kendall Waller, and the young sweet voices of the Richmond High School Chamber Choir, we had a joyful evening of fellowship and worship.
However, that all does not erase my memory of the DRIVE TO RICHMOND NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN which happened tonight as I went over for the party. For some odd reason, I decided to take I-70 as far as I could before I turned north to Richmond. A brain freeze as the car and I stood still two different times in traffic due to an accident, made me forget that YOU HAVE TO CROSS THE RIVER north of I-70 before you can get to RICHMOND WHICH IS NORTH OF THE RIVER. Additionally I had forgotten to remember that there are only a few places to CROSS THE RIVER. You can cross at one of the Kansas City downtown bridges, or at 291 or at....Lexington. Since I had passed 291 when I realized this, I crossed at Lexington and got later by the minute. The later I got, the faster I went. Until someone else, namely A STATE TROOPER between Lexington and Richmond noticed how fast I was going and as I passed him (now under the speed limit because I noticed him too, but too late) and as I got in front of him, he put on his pretty RED AND BLUE LIGHTS and I pulled over quick. I decided to tell him THE TRUTH including that I thought I had my speed down by the time he saw me. He said, yes but I was going 78 when I pulled out in back of him. And in the end, he did not give me a ticket and had me on my way in good, sort of, time.
What did Susan learn from this?
1) Start earlier. Sometimes it is good to go the way that is tried and true.
2) Plan before you get on the road. Think about the traffic. Know where to turn, even if you have been there at least a dozen times before.
3) Tell the truth.
4) The people I thought I was disappointing (the pastors and the Richmond cooks) were not disappointed in me and it was really my own anxiety that was causing my own anxiety.
Lessons for Advent:
1)Follow the way this year that is tried and true--read the scripture accounts; realize this time of the year is a journey--like Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, you need to know where you are going. There will be some inevitable bumps along the way
2) Tell God the truth in your daily prayer times--you probably are not carrying through on all of the Advent disciplines you hoped to keep. You may have already overspent and overeaten. You may be remembering the family argument from Thanksgiving and are dreading a similar scene on Christmas day. Yours may not be a Norman Rockwell family. Tell God the truth. Let him guide you through it. Accept his gifts.
3) Give yourself a break from pushing yourself too hard. Life is not about stressing yourself out. You are probably the one with the highest expectations of yourself, which, quite frankly for many of us pastor types, puts us on the defensive when we mess up, leads to gloominess about our own self worth, and generally does not make us very nice people to be around. Lighten up.
Amen
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