The 99% at Christmas

by Leta Herrington, LPC

612.332.7743 ext. 221
lherrington@wpc-mpls.org

Norman Rockwell painted a Christmas that has since captured the imaginations and expectations of many...winding staircases, beautiful décor, tables adorned in linen, candles, silver and touting a beautiful golden turkey along with all its trimmings, shining faces of a large extended family in spotless festive garb, smiling in obvious delight to be in each other's company for the holidays.

We are the 99 percent - we whose Christmases don't begin to resemble what Norman Rockwell once depicted, but have assumed that everyone else's are that way. The holidays of the 99 percent include loading in and out of the car going from one gathering to the next, or perhaps having no gathering at all; delight in seeing beloved relatives we only get to see at the holidays along with relatives we're delighted we only have to endure once a year during the holidays, a welcomed day off work or a day we wished we had off work, eyes spilling over with excitement, boredom, exhaustion; a favorite dish or perhaps a dish that makes us grateful to have a dog underfoot; an unexpected phone call, gift or hug; tables with food and spills, yummy smells and those that have us running to open a window, a gleeful squeal, an empty chair, children laughing, playing and fussing, they amuse and whine, acting out our delight and our dismay, our wonders and realities.

We are the 99 percent...we experience Christmas in all its beauty and challenges. Perhaps this Christmas we heard again about the star that led the wise men through the wilderness that helped them to find that for which they were seeking. Perhaps we are reminded of our own star - the star that offers to guide us from within. It is a star that shines brightly beckoning us forward and at times wanes dimly encouraging us to question what we are doing or where we are going. Our invitation is to follow where it leads with the promise - not of a Norman Rockwell Christmas -but of a life with tables of food, spills, laughter, and fussing and, if we're receptive, an abiding sense of peace.