I'm sorry we were not able to catch each other on the phone last night. I called as I was rushing home from work so we could meet some friends for dinner before the concert and my phone died. I had to put it on the charger as soon as I got home and I didn't take it with me. Then we got home so late that I pretty much went straight to bed.
I don't know if you heard my message or not, but, Wesley ACED all of his final exams. That kid is truly going to be the death of me and has caused more gray hair than I can count. The finals elevated his grades enough so that he passed all but one class, statistics. We won't know for certain until Friday what his fate for spring semester is, but it is looking like he will have to complete a Winter Term course with a B+ or higher and then they will put him on academic probation for the spring semester. This is exactly what I have been praying for. I talked to Wes just before I called you and he was so excited that he did so well and is very committed to focusing on school and making the most out of this opportunity. These past few weeks have been very humbling for him.
I took the opportunity to tell him that there are so many people who have been praying for him and that I KNOW that the Lord has been watching over him and blessing him. I told him that with how dire the situation looked just a few short weeks ago, there is no way that he could have turned it around without the Lord's help. He admitted that it was interesting to him how whenever he knew he needed to study, he had the energy to do it despite having to go to classes full-time and work a lot. He also said that another thing that really helped was the fact that during the big Black Friday sales we were able to get him a new laptop that he could take with him to class and take better notes and study during his breaks from work. He didn't think he would be able to get a new computer until he got his spring semester financial aid, but Grandma Lucy, loaned us some money so that we could get the computer. I pointed out again how the Lord has blessed him, this time with Grandparents who love him and support him and are invested in his success.
I've witnessed so many small miracles these past few weeks. I don't know if it's because I have been trying to be more in tune with the Spirit or if they have always been happening, I just never really took the time to notice. Probably the latter. I think that is why I have been so drawn recently to A Christmas Carol.
In the final chapters of the story, Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come.
Like his older brother, the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Ebenezer Scrooge many scenes of Christmas. Here Dickens is at his “Dickensiest” in lavish descriptions of food and festivity, all of which accentuate the joyfulness of Christmas. At first an observer of such delights, in time Scrooge begins to participate in the Christmas games as if he were actually present in the celebrations. He does this most of all as he watches the Christmas party of his nephew, Fred, who, in spite of having been mistreated by his uncle the day before, nevertheless wishes Scrooge a Merry Christmas in absentia.
Yet, what touches Scrooge’s heart in Chapter 3 isn’t merely his looking upon numerous Christmas parties. One scene in particular has special impact upon his soul. It comes as he observes the family of his clerk, Bob Cratchit. Though this family has little in the way of money, they abound in love and joy. The center of their passion is Tiny Tim, the Cratchit’s sickly little boy, who walked with a crutch and was supported by “an iron frame.” This sweet boy may have a crippled body, but his heart is bigger and stronger than most. He’s the one, after all, who offers the generous wish: “God bless us every one!”
As the Ghost of Christmas Present nears the end of his mission to save Scrooge, he reveals two children hiding beneath his robe. They are “wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable.” Who are these emaciated beings? “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want.” Their presence calls forth compassion from Scrooge, who asks, “Have they no refuge or resource?” Once again the spirit hurls Scrooge’s own words back in his face: “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” And with this, the Ghost of Christmas Past disappears along with his pitiful children.
The final Spirit to visit Ebenezer Scrooge is the “Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come” or simply the “Ghost of the Future.” This silent Spirit, shrouded in black, takes the mythic form of death. Not surprisingly, the visions it reveals to Scrooge also focus upon death and its meaning. The Spirit reveals a vision where people in the community react to the death of some unknown figure.
In the final moments of this scene Scrooge demands that the Spirit reveal the identity of the mysterious dead man. Soon Scrooge stands in a deserted graveyard, directed by the Spirit’s pointing finger to a neglected grave, the stone of which reads “Ebenezer Scrooge.” The horrified Scrooge realizes the sum total of his life, which amounts to zero (or less). He will die unloved and unnoticed, unless he chooses a different course of living from that moment on.
This is exactly what Scrooge resolves to do, even though the Spirit refuses to assure him that his life is redeemable: “Spirit!” he cried, tight clutching at its robe, “hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope? . . . I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”
Yet the Spirit doesn’t speak, and, as Scrooge attempts to hold him, the Spirit turns into a bedpost, Scrooge’s own bedpost. His interaction with the spirits is over, and his new life is about to begin.
The closing paragraphs of A Christmas Carol explain that “Scrooge was better than his word.” He became like a second father to Tiny Tim. Moreover, he “became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.” Yes, from then on Scrooge “knew how to keep Christmas well,” but his transformation wasn’t limited to one day or one season. Rather, he fulfilled his promise “keep Christmas all year,” both in his joviality and in his generosity.
Being faced with death, it seems to me, does have a way of refocusing our vision, helping us see what matters most in life. These past three years I've had the privilege of participating in several funerals, most notably Grandma McGiven, Richard and Dad. Considering the death of some of the most important people in my life has caused me to examine the value of my own life. When my days on this earth have passed, will I have lived my life to the fullest? What will people say about me when I am gone?
Transformation is a result of seeing with a fresh perspective. As I already mentioned, seven years before he wrote A Christmas Carol, Dickens wrote a short story about a grouchy man who is changed through his interaction with goblins on Christmas Eve. Part of what altered Gabriel Grub was the beating he took from the goblins. They literally knocked some sense into him. Scrooge, on the contrary, experiences no physical pummeling from the Spirits who visit him. They work their wonders simply by showing Scrooge scenes of Christmas past, present, and future. This enables Scrooge to see life from a fresh perspective, and as a result, he resolves to become a changed man.
There’s no question that Ebenezer Scrooge needed supernatural assistance in order to change his ways. Apart from Jacob Marley’s intervention, Scrooge would have continued to forge for himself a hellishly-long chain which he’d be forced to drag about for eternity. Yet because the Spirit of his former partner interrupted Scrooge and sent the three Christmas Spirits, Scrooge’s life was renewed.
The good news for those of us who are in need of transformation, and that means all of us, is that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are in the renewal and reformation business. If we want transformation in our own lives all we need to do is partake of the blessings of the Atonement, and the Spirit of the Lord will empower us to live in a whole new way. And, unlike the Spirits in A Christmas Carol, this Spirit doesn’t disappear when Christmas is over.
One of my favorite Christmas poems reminds me that in order to truly immerse myself in the season I must have Christmas in my heart.
There’s Christmas in the home and church,
There’s Christmas in the mart;
But you’ll not know what Christmas is
Unless it’s in your heart.
The bells may call across the snow,
And carols search the air;
But, oh, the heart will miss the thrill
Unless it’s Christmas there.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: "Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of thyself."
Mom thank you for always showing me that the best gifts are gifts from the heart. The "Heart" gifts you try to send out each year are the ones I treasure and look forward to the most. I love you! Merry Christmas!
Till Tomorrow,
Holley
No comments:
Post a Comment