Even the best of times are laden with empty spaces. Let them linger. Hold them dear. Visit them often in the place where everything meets.
Our silk Christmas tree stands tall, twinkling in perfect symmetry. Yet there is a place in my heart for those imperfect trees from years gone by, the ones we chopped down ourselves.
I can easily recall the heightened sense of expectation during those annual wintry treks into the woods: the rustling of wind stirring the treetops, the fragrant smell of pine mixed with cedar and the sounds of our footsteps pressing into damp wet clumps of pine needles.
I also recall the resolve: to find that illusive "perfect" tree.
And oh, the excitement of driving home with our treasure in the bed of the pickup truck, only to come to the realization that once again, the quest for a perfect evergreen would have to continue next year. Even gobs of glistening silvery tinsel could not hide the gaping spaces.
And here is the irony: it is those empty spaces that now call to me. Missing places. Missing faces. No tinsel to cover it up.
Where Everything Meets
There's a place where everything gathers,
Joys and sorrows, all that matters.
Empty spaces of the broken hearted,
Draw us nearer to those departed.
They live in every heart that beats,
In the empty spaces,
Where the heart embraces,
The place where everything meets.
-----G. Hill
Christmas… that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, is always a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.
---Augusta E. Rundel
Love comes in all kinds of packages. Some are neatly tied up, and some are messy, and some feel like empty spaces to be filled.
― S. Walden, Good
Keep some space for wonder . . . wisdom begins in wonder. (Socrates)
Keep some space for perspective . . . in the distance we finally see what was always there.
Keep some space for forgiveness . . . its power is a ready gift you give yourself.
Keep some space for purpose . . . there is intention in your silent struggles.
Keep some space for listening . . . ‘listen' contains the same letters as the word ‘silent'.
Keep some space for faith . . . for the light in our hearts we cannot yet see.
Silence isn’t empty; it’s full of answers.
----Erica Ebert
An empty space in our souls that only His coming can fill.
Keep open the quiet spaces in our hearts for Christmas to enter.
—-Billy Graham
We know little about Mary's parents and early home life, but we can be sure at the time of this sacred birth, there were spaces in her heart for everything.
But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
----Luke 2:19
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My Posts from Christmases Past:
Empty Spaces
Pots are formed from clay,
but the empty space within it
is the essence of the pot.
Walls with windows and doors
form the house,
but the empty space within it
is the essence of the home.
—-Laozi
GH
Gloria
Good morning
Beautiful reflections of all the important
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div>Thoughts th
Thank you! I have to smile at those pathetic Christmas trees at our house, yet in retrospect, how lovely they were! Tinsel anyone???
Excellent post on the meaning of Christmas, Gloria. All the glit and glitter cannot cover up the bittersweet memories of past Christmas’ spent with love ones no longer here. Everything may not have been perfect but we appreciated what we had because of the people that we celebrated with. Merry Christmas to you and yours this blessed season.
Thank you for your heartfelt comments. We all feel it. Especially the older we get. When I think of my loved ones who have passed, I have to realize that they experience the eternal joys of Christmas.
Thanks for the joy of bringing back the magic of Christmases past. There was always the raisin filled cookies, zeppoli, rock & rye and anisette for visitors.
The thought of an artificial tree never occurred but the tinsel, train platform, nativity scene and plasticville village all created a wonderful spirit. Then there was Christmas Eve Mass, good food and card playing. This would go on for a week and finished with The New Year Mummers parade, a Philadelphia tradition.
Happily the bell of Christmas still rings which tells me I still believe.
Thanks for all the nice visions and thoughts for the holiday season.
Frank,
I love this phrase: The bell of Christmas still rings. You certainly have the poetry of life. Thank you.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Thank you Janice. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Wow! Your portion of the text was so evocative. Your best yet. Good for the soul. Thanks. Merry Christmas to you both.
Bill R
Thank you, Bill. We all deal with loss and it is especially hard this time of year to feel both Christmas joy and some sadness. I wanted to capture that. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
oh as always Gloria, you have me thinking about something I have not thought about in this way specific to spaces- wonderful wisdom!!! thank you as I hope you and your family are having a wonderful Christmas!!
Merriest of Christmases to you and wishing you the best the new year has to offer. Always a pleasure to read your comments.
Keep me posted!
Hugs,Dot