God and Childbirth
The “Horrors” of Childbirth
Women looooooove to dwell on their birth horror stories. And honestly, to someone who hasn’t gone through labor yet (both Read more…
God and Childbirth
Coming to Terms with the “Curse”
“He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children in anguish.” – Genesis 3:16a Read more…
God and Childbirth
God & Childbirth: The Wrestling Match Begins
“Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that He could not Read more…
Stories we Tell at Christmas Time
Of Crèche Sets and Christ
Merry Christmas! I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Savior, the birth of Hope! I hope it was full of family, fun, and frivolity!
This post today is short(er) – I don’t want to take you away from family for too long! They are really just some random thoughts I have about the real Story of Christmas: Jesus.
A Crèche Set Story
I grew up in a household that had probably about 20 crèche sets. I loved looking at all of them and putting them out each year. They each were unique and special to me, each bearing a memory of Christmas past. I’m not sure I could choose one favorite.
When I got older I started to wonder: which one was Mary’s favorite?
Stories we Tell at Christmas Time
The Gifts of Santa Claus
Growing up, there was never any doubt that Santa existed. It helped, I suppose, that I spent those early childhood years in Germany, where Nikolaustag was celebrated on December 6 each year. My parents were quick to equate St. Nicholas and Santa Claus (as they should – they are the same person), and thus saved me a great deal of trauma in finding out the “truth.”
Of course people believed in Santa!, child-me thought. I figured all the hoopla in America was just in honor of him. I was about eight when I realized the truth: many children believed in an actual human being (elf?) who lived at the North Pole, had flying reindeer, and delivered presents every Christmas.
Being a highly rational creature, I decided the best thing to do was to make up for lost time. I went into a sort of denial-based belief, and literally CHOSE to believe Santa was real. After all, I had lost a valuable eight years of not putting cookies and milk out for Santa!
This only lasted a year or two. After all, I knew the truth. Now, I’m a married adult and looking to eventually in the future have children…And I’m faced with this dilemma: what do I tell my kids?
It’s a hot button issue in our culture, and things can get personal quickly. But I think if we looked at the actual person of St. Nicholas – whom Santa Claus is derived from – we might just feel a little better about the concept of “Santa” (which just means “Saint,” anyway).
Stories we Tell at Christmas Time
The Light of Santa Lucia
I have always loved the lights at Christmas time. I even wrote a blog about them several years ago. Light brings warmth, hope…and it symbolizes an indescribable longing. A longing that maybe – just maybe – the Light will overcome the Darkness.
Is it any wonder light is tied to Christmas? We longed for a Savior – even the Gentiles had this longing. We longed for Light to triumph over the Dark forces of this world.
And then the Light of the World came, and He dispelled the Darkness from our souls, giving us the hope of Life (John 8:12).
This longing for light is universal, and never more so than in the winter months, when light (before the advent of electricity) was scarce. The pagans had their traditions about winter and Light…and God used that in a very special way. One of those ways was through Santa Lucia…
Stories we Tell at Christmas Time
Seeking God in the Stories we Tell at Christmas Time
It’s that wonderful time of year once again! There is holiday cheer and well wishes, gift giving and receiving, and an all around joyful atmosphere (usually). The lights are up, Santa’s are out, and creche sets have been placed.
And once again, it’s time for an advent blog. It’s actually my fourth Christmas blog, although I kind of cheated last year by just incorporating Christmas into my existing series. It worked…but this year I didn’t do a fall series, and I was left in the quandary of having to figure out a suitable blog.
I’ll admit, I was all out of ideas. At first I was going to just “blog” a short story about the Christmas season (which will one day, God willing, make it into a novel). However, I wasn’t satisfied with that option. I’m just not ready to be *that* vulnerable yet, and I felt I didn’t have sufficient time to do research or flesh out the characters.
I toyed with the idea of not posting anything at all, but that seemed rather lame. So, I asked myself, “What is a good advent blog? What stories do we tell about Christmas?”
And then it hit me: Santa.
Maidens of the Deep
The Changes in Undine
“My father, who is a powerful water-prince in the Mediterranean Sea, desired that his only daughter should become possessed of a soul, even though she must then endure many of the sufferings of those thus endowed….I am now possessed of a soul, and my soul thanks you. ”[1]
After Undine’s strange outburst, Father Heilmann, full of wise compassion, prays over her. He then turns to Huldbrand, saying “‘So far as I can discover there is nothing of evil in her, but much indeed that is mysterious.’”[2]
But he needn’t have worried about Undine. For indeed, she was completely changed…
Maidens of the Deep
Undine’s Soul
‘There must be something beautiful, but at the same time extremely awful, about a soul….The soul must be a heavy burden…’”[1]
Last week we left Undine wild and lovely, and Huldbrand smitten. Cut off from the rest of the world, the two soon fall in love, and the fisherman and his wife see them “as already united in marriage.”[2] And yet, they need a priest to make it official. A priest showing up on their island seems impossible…and yet a priest unexpectedly knocks at their door one evening.[3]
Father Heilmann had set out toward the bishop to tell him of the “distress” of his monastery and surrounding villages because of the floods. However, when trying to cross the raging river, the boat was capsized and he wound up on their newly formed island.[4]
Huldbrand doesn’t wait. He suggests the priest marry himself and Undine. And since everyone agrees, there’s no reason to delay!
Maidens of the Deep
The Lovely (and Wild) Undine – Part 2
“She threw her arms round his neck, and drew him down beside her.” Huldbrand let her, “embracing the beautiful girl and kissing her fervently.”[1]
“I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this” ~ 2 Samuel 6:21b-22a
Huldbrand rushes out to find Undine in the midst of the storm. Undine calls out to him, and coyly reveals herself on “a little island formed by the flood.” Huldbrand makes his way to her…and the quote above says it all.
But the fisherman finds them, rebukes them, and begs them to come to the “mainland” – which is now an island itself, cut off from the world.[3] Undine refuses, and sings of the stream going to the ocean. The old fisherman “wept bitterly at her song, but this did not seem to affect her.” It touches Huldbrand’s heart though, and he carries her back.[4]