more days than I can possibly count....

Losing one's way doesn't always happen physically. It can happen mentally, emotionally. Sometimes, it takes a serious re-walking of the past in order for one to begin stepping forward into the future. Some things have to be re-lived in order to be put aside. The past eight months have certainly been that, in a lot of ways. Everything culminating to a single point in time, a specific experience that somehow sets you free, cuts the strings entirely.

I have not touched the Bible in probably six months out of the last eight. It's sitting right by me, don't get me wrong. I know it's there. I see it every single day, even the days when I most want to ignore it. I have not opened it. I've thought about it increasingly the past week. No, it has nothing to do with the "season", trust me. I could go on and on regarding this holiday season, this "holy season" but I won't. Suffice it to say that I don't hold with it having anything to do with Christian beliefs at all. People can adopt and change anything they want to reflect their version of truth, we all do it. For me, Christmas has nothing to do with Christ, or his message. No, for me, this re-opening of the pages has more to do with the turning of the year.

A few days ago was the solstice, the official turning of the year. It's as if the world held it's breath, waiting for that one specific moment, and then with the exhale we began to spring anew. Sounds incredibly pagan, doesn't it? There are certain elemental truths that we cannot escape, no matter what pretty trappings we try to throw over it to cover and hide the underlying issues or matters. The fact of the matter is that for me, I find God most relevant when I see Him in the trees surrounding me, in feeling the snow falling down onto my upturned face, in hearing His voice in the sounds of the ravens. Does that make me pagan? I don't think so. It certainly doesn't make me the standard Christian fare, however, and I understand and accept that distinction. I truly do. Do I still believe that He is working in my life? Absolutely. It's undeniable. Do I still believe that His Word can be found in the trapping of humanity. Yep, I sure do. I'm just not willing to put God in a box. He She It Whatever.... doesn't matter the label you put on God, and it doesn't matter how you decide to worship, follow, believe.

What really matters most of all is what you Hear, what you Do, what you See.

And that being said..... it's time to crack that binding again and see what He has to say to me today.