“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7 ESV
I’ve written about seeing turkeys before – it’s become a family joke when I come back from a run: “See any turkeys today?” And my answer is often “yes.”
Because no matter where I am, no matter what time of day, I see turkeys. A few weeks ago I went away for the weekend, and I’m running down a main road thinking, “I bet I won’t see any turkeys here!” and sure enough, traffic had to stop because two turkeys meandered across the road.
You can’t make this stuff up. They’re always there (lurking, I think). Even if my circumstances or environment changes, they’re there.
Huh, what are the turkeys in my life? What are the roadblocks I think I’m avoiding, but reappear despite my best efforts to squash them?
Stay with me, I promise this makes sense.
I spent a lot of time walking outside this week, and walking is my thinking time, so I spent time asking myself, “What’s my turkey?” (Now imagine putting that on repeat to the tempo of your steps. . . and that’s what I looked like walking around my neighborhood.) And I realized my turkey is fear of being alone. Now, I recharge by being along, and I enjoying spending time alone, so I’m not afraid of simply being alone. More walking. . . . more thinking. . . my turkey is fear of being along during the holidays. The pandemic really messed me up emotionally (I got through it, did what needed to be done, but I’m still discovering ramifications of “making it through”. . . . can anyone else relate?). But this fear has also led me to consider my response to this question:
If I’m alone on Christmas, does that change the meaning of Christmas?
And the answer is (as I find myself saying to my students lately – I might need to change my wording a bit) a big, fat no.
Because the point of Christmas isn’t being with other people. Yes, it’s a great way to celebrate, and I enjoy it, but it’s not the point of Christmas.
So perhaps I will overcome my turkey by focusing on the point, rather than on my fear of being alone. In an attempt to do so, I will spend my next four blog posts sharing four Christmas songs that annually direct me to the point of Christmas. I hope they do this for you, as well.
Here are the songs if you want to get a head start on listening – I hope you enjoy them!
What is your turkey?
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7 ESV
