This holiday season has felt weird. For some reason the usual Christmas Spirit, love of decorating for the holidays, planning & attending parties just seemed flat. Looking back I realized that right at Thanksgiving I came down with a terrible flu/cold that turned into a much worse situation and after 3.5 weeks, 3 sets of antibiotics and 2 inhalers I am finally coming back to life (sort of). This just seemed to knock me off my rocker so to speak physically and emotionally.
Today, was the day I had signed up back in October, to ring the bell for the Salvation Army. Going down there I was thrilled the weather was nice and my shift started at noon so the best time of day temperature wise was in my window. Starting to ring the bell I thought "I am going to hear a ringing bell for the rest of the day & night after this". What happened instead was my "Moment of Grace".
To step back for a moment, I was reading an Oprah Magazine I had just received Sunday night. In it the article titled "Moments of Grace" caught my eye and my attention. It was profound and perfect for this Grinch and her lost Christmas Spirit. This is best said in a quote by the author, Michelle WIldgen.
"...The world is marvelously mysterious.
Grace shows up now and again to remind us of this.
It is a blessing that can't be earned, only received. You'd get nothing done
if you went around watching for miracles all the time.
But you'd do well to stay alert enough
to see them out of the corner of your eye."
With the bell ringing I found myself present to the bell sound and flooded with thoughts about "what does a bell ringing represent? Bells can have a religious context but I also think much more. I think about the quote "Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings from the movie A Wonderful Life." What about bells in churches, bells priests wore around their garments just to name a few. For the Salvation Army, I am not certain but do know that for over 124 years they have been in existence and serving communities throughout our United States.
For me, it got me out of my Grinch self and into talking to people. Saying hello, Merry Christmas, engaging conversation, a smile or a laugh. I caught myself singing the old Coca Cola commercial song (copyright Coca Cola);
"I want to teach the world to sing
in perfect harmony.
I want to buy the world a coke
and keep it company."
It was about community, reaching out, remembering that Christmas is about giving back, helping someone else just because and paying attention for just an afternoon to the sound of the ringing bell. The red kettle was full and my heart was full of the Christmas Spirit. Thank you Colorado Springs for allowing me to Ring the Bell and find my way back to a moment of Grace and the Christmas Spirit.
Comments(3)