December 13, 2023

Wednesday Word:  Of Magnets and Crosses

Somewhere along the line I began collecting crosses.  It wasn’t an intentional thing, and it certainly wasn’t due to some effort of showing off my “holiness.”  It just sort of happened.  A cross here and there that I found interesting or meaningful.  Parishioners took notice and began gifting me with crosses.  Hanging on my office wall they have sort of become part of my identity, and people love looking at them when they visit the office.  Some people enjoy gifting them to me.  No two are exactly alike, and I think that’s what makes my wall of crosses so fascinating.

At home we have a number of refrigerator magnets.  Some of them are sleeves that hold pictures of our foreign exchange daughters, our own daughter, parents, grandparents, and other friends.  Some of them are knick-knacks from places we’ve been.  Some are utilitarian in that they are strong and can hold a lot of stuff we stick to the fridge.

Both of these things, magnets and crosses, are more than knick-knacks or simple office decorations.  For me and Joelene they are symbols of home.  They are ties to family and friends who are distant from us, or who have died and their photo is, in essence, their living memory.  They are remembrances of places we’ve been, or people who have touched us.  And for as much as we have moved, they let us know that once the magnets and crosses are unpacked and placed on the refrigerator or office wall, we are home.

Last week the box of missing magnets was found and the bare refrigerator in the rental house came alive with family and friends.  The house isn’t getting any bigger, so we are still somewhat cramped, but it’s livable.  And we still have unpacked boxes and empties here and there reminding us that we are still in transition.  But the refrigerator has been decorated and the place now feels a bit more like home.

Last week Joelene came to the office and helped me hang crosses.  We figured out what wall to use, laid them on the floor to get a general plan, and then went to work putting them up.  My office isn’t getting any bigger, so I’m still somewhat cramped, but it’s workable.  I still have unpacked boxes and a few empties here and there reminding me I'm still in transition.  But the crosses are up and my office now feels a bit more like I belong.

Advent is a season of transition.  It’s a season of packed boxes sitting next to unpacked boxes.  It’s a season of stress.  But it’s also a season that, at some point, you can look around and say, “I’m home.”  Advent is a season that calls us home to be with the Messiah who has Already come, as well as a season that calls us to look forward to coming home to be with the Messiah who has Not Yet come.

However your Advent transition is going, I hope you get to the place where you can say, “I’m home.”

Todd+