The dining room table is almost 100 years old; it is heavy oak with 3 leaves that are now a darker shade than the grand piece itself. My great Grandparents and their 10 children used to sit round it and I am sure there are many stories it can tell. Yet the mother of this family, my Great Grandmother was deaf since she was a little girl; her stories would have been written on her heart in a unique way.
On the eve of the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, this grand piece was once again was privy to stories, laughter, heart conversation, and comfort, as well as being the setting for the Sensual Table banquet. I held a dinner with women who are well read, well traveled, each on their own in life, and all shared a moment of beauty they remembered. The theme of this remembered beauty was to recount an event in this last month of the year, somewhere in their life, where their senses were brought fully engaged. One shared how as a child in Brazil they would go to the beach and scoop the watery greens, filling their arms and carrying them to the shore and when they were shaken hundreds of tiny shrimp would be released. The frying pan on the open fire was ready to fry this delectable catch and be eaten right away. I can see the sand on their feet, between their toes, hear the laughter, the shouts of who has the largest haul and smell the scent of the butter and garlic ready to bathe the shrimp briefly before they are consumed.
As I sat at the table with these guests I felt a fresh surge of energy which surprised me. This month has been a time of hibernating, of much candle light and of seeking and receiving redemption, new pictures being exchanged for painful old ones in my soul. The early morning routine has been one of slow awakening only when the light begins to break into the day. Candles have been lit and given the gentle invitation to simply linger quietly for a few moments – no reading, no writing – just sitting in the quiet low light of the morning. Evenings have seen me come home, light the candle in the kitchen window (which burns until I go to bed), light the multitude of tea lights, and listen to the soft sounds of the music from the 1400 – 1550’s, a daily routine. It is a season of traditions and I have been creating new ones of my own that hold significance and Holy Presence. It is the month of the least day light and we celebrate the coming of the Light of the World. Christmas is a time of celebration for many and yet for others it is the time of greatest loneliness, despair and isolation. I have been holding the latter in my heart in the morning, in the light of the flames.
Some of my own cup of sorrow has been in relationships that began or ended in this month, of a childhood where Christmas was forbidden. I waited in the soft candlelight, hibernating and seeking new pictures, new celebrations and the Light of Truth in these areas. Luke wrote that redemption was near:” stand up and hold your heads high; because you are about to be liberated!” (CJB). Not only is redemption or liberation here but my heart can say “I know that my Redeemer lives”.
My summation of the hibernation, of seeking Light and redemption in this time is:
Redemption is when the Light comes to the darkness of my soul, changes the picture, takes away fear, and lets me fall into the warmth and awe of Holy Presence.
Hibernation – awaking gently to life
Light – gentle light that is life giving
Redemption – new pictures whispered with infinite tenderness, that breathe life.