Putting Things In Persepctive

The first day of the Lunar New Year was on Saturday, January 25, 2020.  It is the Year of the Rat.  Traditionally festivities go on for about two weeks.  So instead of an Octave, we celebrate 14 days!  My family (immediate and extended) family and I had a wonderful, delicious, and fun time at dinner last night.  We had a ten course meal - ten being an auspicious number, the number of perfection.  We were also in a private room (though a bit small) with a TV and a karaoke machine.  My aunts and uncles sang old time favorite Chinese songs and my sisters, cousins, and I relived our younger days with songs like "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys and "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. It was a great evening of family.  Despite the savory taste of the menu or the nostalgic tune of old songs, they did not make the evening great.  It was the "being together" that made it a wonderful night.  It is times like that that puts things into perspective.

True joy does not really come from the food we eat or the songs we sing or even the things we have; rather, it comes from who we eat the food with, who we sing the songs with, and with whom we share the gifts we have received.  It is people, our loved ones, who bring us the sense of deep joy.  That is possible because we are told "When two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them."  The Father is the source of all joy, peace, and love.  It is no wonder that such a deep sense of overwhelming joy is found when we are celebrating with loved ones.

Chinese New Year dinner was especially special because an estranged uncle of ours showed up.  We haven't seen him in years and have not sat down together for a meal for several years.  However, that night we sat together, ate, joked, laughed, sang, and simply enjoyed being together again.  What a profound moment of grace that was.  We picked up where we last left off and it did not seem any time has passed since the last time we met.  That is the grace that comes with a family - though we may not see each other for some time, when we do see each other again, we pick right back up where we left off.  What a gift from the Father. 

Sometimes we allow the problems we face at work or in school distract us from seeing the bigger picture and it causes us to get too caught up in the little things (in the big scheme of things).  People - our family and friends can help us see this.  They enable us to put aside our fears and anxieties and to enjoy their presence and company.  It is almost like when we go to the chapel.  We genuflect, sit down and place all our fears and anxieties in the Lord who tells us, "It is okay.  Give them to me.  I can handle them.  We will get through them together.  For now, just sit with me and let's enjoy one another's company."  

Let us acknowledge and treasure the gift of the presence of the other and the gift of being together and so allow the Lord to help us put things into perspective.  No material thing can do that; only the presence of another can.  Let us see and treasure the presence of Christ in the other, and so be transformed by that encounter.  In this new year let us treasure the presence of those in our lives and the gift of being together, and allow the Christ that is in the other draw us closer to the Father. 

Source: GettyImages




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