Advent2

It just doesn't work to start in the middle of a story. You can't walk into a movie theater halfway through the feature film and make sense of what you're watching. There will be conversations and decisions and reactions that make no sense to you because you missed the beginning of the movie. In the same way, you can't start the Christmas story with the baby in the manger in Bethlehem. If you do, you will miss key elements of the narrative that make all the difference in your understanding. 

This is just the same for life's best moments, you are unable to join part way through a moment, maintain or capture, you can only experience it. 

When I was in primary school, one year I recall we went away to the family holiday spot where we often did every year; the whole trip up there I was silently upset and grumpy as it happened to be an important day that my parents had forgot. We arrived at this place, taken to a room with bunks; sorted ourselves out then we started to play marbles outside in the sand. I remember part way through the game in just the right moment, the right words were said and we all rolled into fits of laughter. I recall watching my brothers belly laughing - that laughter that comes straight from their soul, my sister very young having a cute quiet laugh with the biggest smile. There was a delight that filled the air as the giggles continue with all of us care-free with an ounce of brightness sparkling in our eyes. It was a perfect outburst of love and joy that was deep and richer because we were together. It was awesome, and impossible to fully describe. 

Then it was gone…. the moment left…. 

I sometimes wish it was different, I wish that people are able to cherish those moments. Bottle them up and put in our pockets so when faced with a hard time can open the lid and out flow all the emotion, sound, sights and smells of that slice of delight - what a gift that would be!!

Instead, we are all blessed with a memory, some people retain things a lot better than others yet still we all have one! Recalling moments like the above leaves a smile with a hint of sadness that the experience is gone. Like some bitter-sweet twist, the best moments of our lives seem to slide away just when we try to get a grip to them. 

Fleeting moments of joy, contentment and purpose are gifts that bless our days but just when we reach out to hold them they seem to dissolve. 

It is like trying to hold water in your fingers or grip a hand-full of steam! Our best moments are elusive. 

The more I think about it, the more I realize that even trying to capture these moments tends to strip the fullness from them. Today, society tries to capture everything in photos, videos and yet no technology will ever be able to hold that experience of happiness on file. It is as if the forces of time have collaborated to ensure that the best gifts in life can only be found in the present. 

And yet, here we are in advent, where I am choosing to put that memory to work and allow it to grow my hope. After all, we are hope-based creatures. Our hope - instinct desires to take the seeds of our best moments and almost immediately begin to image the possibilities that could occur if only they were given a chance to fully bloom. Could our most precious slices of living be both a gift in the present and a glimpse of the future?