walked home today, umbrella held high, head low in the rain. my thoughts wandered to bread bags on the feet and christmas candy in a crystal bowl at my grandparents that miracuously lasted the whole year. my sister and i didn't have snow boots when we were little, so mom would put butternut bread bags over our shoes, securing them with rubber bands around the knees, and we'd join our friends out in the snow. the thoughts also wandered to that folgers christmas commercial that is on every year. you know the one - they've been showing it since 1986 - the one where the family is sleeping christmas eve and tom (the lost son) comes home in the middle of the night to surprise them, walks into the kitchen, begins to brew a pot of coffee, and the family all wakes up to the delicious aroma and the blessing of tom.
speaking of blessings... i went to a sufjan steven's concert in oslo on tuesday. i took the bus up the middle of the day, spent the afternoon with a friend, and met other friends at the concert hall. no assigned seating, and we found ourselves on the very front row! it was amazing. i've felt quite lost, to put it simply, when it comes to thinking about the future. teaching of future, living out passions surrounds my thoughts, consuming them at times. i just don't understand how it is possible to live out passions while being able to serve God. it sounds like a simple theology, but the reality is much more difficult to understand. we got to the concert (have i already said i sat in the front row?!) and i saw passion lived out for the next 3 hours. the complexity of the lyrics, mysticality of the music was the epitomy of passion. after the concert i couldn't even speak. i turned to another girl in our gang and we just stared at each other. she finally asked if she could give me a hug - we had no words. God spoke so clearly about passion and the ability we have to create beauty with whatever we have and use it in a natural way. it was beautiful. sufjan wasn't so bad himself. kristin has a good picture of him.