“The season that teaches us to wait for what is beyond the obvious.” --Joan Chittister

That Holy Thing
by George McDonald

They all were looking for a king
To slay their foes and lift them high;
Thou cam’st, a little baby thing
That made a woman cry.

O Son of Man, to right my lot
Naught but Thy presence can avail;
Yet on the road Thy wheels are not,
Nor on the sea Thy sail!

My how or when Thou wilt not heed,
But come down Thine own secret stair,
That Thou may’st answer all my need-
Yea, every bygone prayer.

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I have been reflecting quite a bit on change. I recently re-read Madeleine L'Engle's The Young Unicorns, one of her bizarre yet brilliant young adult novels involving the Austin family. In the book, the father and his daughter Vicky have this conversation:

“You’ve gone on in high and lofty tones at the dinner table about freedom, haven’t you?” 

“Well, yes,” she said, trying to sit up straight on the couch which was soft and invited relaxation. “I think it’s important, people being free.” 

“So do I, Vicky. But we aren’t free to remain static, to refuse to change. That isn’t freedom. That’s death, death, either for the individual person or for the family.”

“You’ve gone on in high and lofty tones at the dinner table about freedom, haven’t you?” “Well, yes,” she said, trying to sit up straight on the couch which was soft and invited relaxation. “I think it’s important, people being free.” “So do I, Vicky. But we aren’t free to remain static, to refuse to change. That isn’t freedom. That’s death, death, either for the individual person or for the family.” 

In the Old Testament, the people of God, even when they were oppressed and exiled, were commanded to not stay static but to live-- to marry, raise families, work, and rest.  To toil in such a way that they would have great joy in the harvest. 

C.S. Lewis, in his beloved Chronicles of Narnia, speaks of this same passage from brokenness to wholeness with the stories of Edmund and Eustace. These are the great "eucatastrophies" (a word coined by J.R.R. Tolkien, meaning, a sudden turn of events at the end of a story which result in the protagonist's well-being)--the epic transformations turning darkness into light.

Isaiah chapter 9 reminds us of this joyous event. That out of the deep darkness came a strong shouldered "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace!" What more can we do then but step out in faith, risking our life into the hands of our Almighty God? Is static-ness really death? After all, Jesus did not come that we be comfortable on this earth, but that we would have everlasting comfort in His arms.

Some things to think about.