That song line sums up the past few weeks pretty well. It has been crazy, slightly tragic as far as grades are concerned, almost magical, awful sometimes, and always beautiful.
It's never enjoyable to come face to face with failure. Again. I don't know why, but Natural History (Biology) just will not stay in my head. It all makes sense on paper, in lecture, while talking and studying, but take it all away and give me a test and I fail. Royally. This is the second term, and the second time I've failed a midterm for this class. But, as frustrating as it is, it's not the end of the world. I remember when I had a terrible time with Algebra II in highschool, and, after a similar experience, the lady that taught me said, "Well, thankfully your salvation does NOT depend on your Algebra grade!" Amen. It doesn't even depend on my Natural History grade. This term is better than last. Last term, I also failed the Logic midterm. This time, I aced it. There's always a silver lining, and His mercies are new every morning.
On Friday, we had our first snow. Not a whole lot, but enough to make it beautiful. That night, NSA had a volleyball game, and the Sophomores were the worst class. We really were not with the program. We had fun, though, and we had something none of the other classes had: Our personal bugler to (loudly!) proclaim a goal on our part. I don't know who brought the bugle, but a spectator absconded with it and put it to good use. The funniest part to me was that he even knew how to play it. Who learns to play the bugle anymore? Apparently Jonathan. About thirty of us went to Arby's afterward to re-fuel and enjoy each others' company. (What a great segue into my next ramble!)
Today was the Sabbath, and that makes up for anything that happens during the week. Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I love getting up, going to church, worshiping, confessing my sin and being reminded that Christ paid for it all, eating the bread, drinking the wine, feasting and fellowshipping. Since my Moscow Family is scattering to the four winds for Thanksgiving, we had a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving today. It was fantastic. I'm still stuffed, and probably won't even have a snack before bed. A few family friends came too, to fill out the table. As always, the fine china and silverware came out, cloth napkins, the works. It's the Sabbath; it's a feast. "This is the day that the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"
It's amazing how food smooths the way for fellowship. We're relational creatures, and food is one of the best catalysts for fostering the atmosphere of fellowship. Shared food always tastes better. I think about Mr. Scrooge and his "melancholy meal," or his lonely, tasteless dish of gruel in his apartment. Even Scrooge might have loosened up a bit around good food, if he'd taken a chance and gone to Fred's Christmas dinner years earlier. Is it any wonder that we are told to fellowship as we celebrate the Lord's Supper? We're commanded to "recognize the body of the Lord." What does that mean? His broken body symbolized by the broken bread? Absolutely. And yet, the "body of the Lord" is also His Church, the people around us in the pews. If we zoom in on the bread and forget His body, we sin. Likewise, if we focus on His body and forget the meaning of the bread, we sin. I love the concerted effort of the community here to recognize the broken body of Christ, and His body at large. At Trinity, before Communion we pass the peace, which is about five or ten minutes of hugging, kissing, hand shaking, body squashing greetings in the name of the Lord. We recognize the body, then sit down and recognize the body before eating it. Then, after the service, many, many folks have Sabbath Feasts, inviting family and friends to celebrate the day of rest. It's hard to keep up with people; our lives are so busy. But Sunday is for resting, for praising God for His faithfulness, and, second to going to church, what better way to do that than by eating together, recognizing the body of the Lord? I have come to love feasting on the Sabbath, and it is definitely a celebration I want to carry into my own home. Food is one of the best body builders.
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