Faith Venture

The weekend following Thanksgiving Day finds my wife turning all that food into energy as she begins decorating the house for Christmas. It is her favorite time of the year. And in 50 years of marriage she has accumulated manger sets, ornaments for the tree, Santa figurines, candles, and God knows what else.

I am not the Grinch, but I don’t experience the season quite the same way. I do enjoy rising early and plugging in the Christmas trees (yes, plural). The distinctive light in the early morning dark brings a sense of the Advent season to the soul to begin the day.

I found an old note tucked away in my digital files from a book long out of print where the author Michael Ray talked of the Highest Goal. He concluded the highest goal for each of us lies in the experience of connection or truth, like that described by the contemplatives of the past 3,000 years or more. He says, “If you live for the highest goal, you are living a life of the spirit.”

That is a good definition we can live with. Its simplicity beats the thousands of words that Paul uses to also try to describe life in the spirit.

To return to our Christmas trees, I view this same thought as “plugging in” to the spirit of God. I often think of it as the “supreme creative force of the universe.” There are times I am plugged in and can feel the light surging through. Then there are the times when the plug has been vibrated loose. In those cases sort of like The Righteous Brothers sang, “I’ve lost that lovin’ feeling.”

In such cases I must return to the roots of simplicity. Thinking long term far beyond my current problems and concerns. I return to my path leaving the path someone else tries to divert me onto. It is time to refocus attention and look at others with compassion. Throwing off the yoke of preconceived ideas and prejudices, I can look at other humans as siblings—fellow children of God.

The simple act of plugging in a few Christmas trees during the season has the effect of reminding me to plug into the spirit of life.