Through a Glass, Darkly

The past few days I’ve been channeling Elizabeth Bennet and thinking quite often of the quote I used in the title. She was speaking of Jane’s engagement, while the issue I was struggling with had nothing at all to do with romance, but, finally, a great source of frustration seems to have come to an end, and if it’s not the happy, wise, reasonable end that Jane got, I feel happy that the situation seems to have ended at all.

As I have mentioned before, this year’s Advent theme at our church is “Like a Child,” which, to be honest, I wasn’t all that jazzed about. However, the Advent devotional our church put out has helped me reconsider my feelings about that. Reading what so many of my friends and fellow congregation members have to say about the topic has helped me to approach the Christmas season with fresh eyes. I’ve been reminded that I get too cynical and bitter and let those feelings dictate too many of my responses. The past few days I have been thinking about what it means to be childlike, and, to no one’s surprise I am sure, I thought about it in terms of forgiveness. Kids seem to get over fights and forgive so much easier than adults do, so in that way I would very much like to be like a child. I’ve been reminded that, when issues and frustrations do come to an end, I should let them go. I hope this end sticks. I am sure I will struggle with it from time to time, but I am going to do my best to let this be the end of it, at least for my part.

(Another happy, wise, reasonable end took place last night on The Amazing Race. A good ending to a crappy season. I am looking forward to February.)