Keep in Touch (Dec 18-24, 2022)

Lived in: Casper, WY + Kawasaki, JP

Reading: Honest Advent (Scott Erickson)

Album: The Oh Hellos Family Christmas Album (The Oh Hellos)

Playing: Assassin's Creed II

Making: Christmas iPhone backgrounds

Happy Final Week of Advent!

My brother and I were standing on the escalator going down into a subway station, and I, being deliriously tired, was staring at the wall.

It was an unremarkable wall, really: a clean textured white tile in perfect alignment from floor to ceiling. It looked as though the construction had just finished, as though the tile were untouched by time from that moment.

The grout in between, however, told the true story of how long it had been since that moment, as it must have been actually untouched since the construction was done: I couldn't tell at first if it was moss, mold, or dust that clung to the edges of the tile - it was probably a combination of all three, blackening the space between the pristine tiles, a health violation to ruin an institution.

Looking at the fibers reaching out of the grout towards the tile - the actually untouched trying to touch the appearing-ly untouched - I realized the spaces in our lives we want to appear "untouched" are the spaces we have to make the most contact with, rubbing and scrubbing to keep the moss, mold, and dust away. The tile was pristine because someone had paid attention to it with a spray nozzle, wash rag, detergent, and a bucket of water. The grout was actually untouched by any of those things, and whatever we refuse to touch becomes a health violation.

The "effortless" abilities I admire in other people takes the most effort to appear that way.

I thank God that when he came to Earth as a baby, there was no part of a full life that he refused to touch. When Jesus enthroned himself in a womb and was released onto a manger in swaddling cloth, he said, "Someone needs to touch them so they won't ruin the institution."

... and then he showed up in the moss, mold, and dirt, and scrubbed away the health violation.

I know this has been a long way to say it: but we need to put our dangerous places in touch with our Jesus, with his body on Earth (your community), and with our own spray nozzle, wash rag, and bucket.

Is there grout in your life you want (Jesus) to touch this next year?

I've let my self-talk grow moss, mold, and dust. And I know better, but I focused on keeping tile white instead of cleaning the entire wall. Feel free to be Jesus' hands and feet and scrub at that part of my wall if you see any health violations 😅

And may the fullness of Jesus touch every part of your Christmas season. 🤘

Love, Beth