Best Christmas Vigil Ever!

Last night (Filipino time) I attended the Christmas Vigil at the Carmelite Monastery in Davao City, Philippines. I had been attending the Simbang Gabi Masses for the previous nine days, minus a few, both there and in other locations around the country, but I was happy to be at this church for the Christmas Eve and Christmas morning Masses. Without a doubt, it was one of the coolest Christmas Vigils I have ever attended.

I arrived about 5 minutes after 8:00, (the Mass started at 8:30). The body of the church was pretty well full, but there were still stacks of chairs that had not been set out yet, so I grabbed one and set myself up at the back, in the portico on the right hand side, where I wouldn't be too much in the way for everyone coming in, but I could still see the altar by leaning a little to my right around the doorway.

Of course that only lasted until all the other seats were taken, all the rest of the space in the portico was filled, and there was a lady standing beside me without a seat. Of course I could not just sit there all comfy and let her stand. I feel certain my Mama would have sensed the disturbance in the force and contrived to find a way to give me The Look! from ten-thousand miles away. I have no idea how she would have done so, and I didn't wait to find out.

So of course I stood up and offered her my seat, and I stepped a few steps back behind the rows of plastic chairs. Unfortunately this also meant that I stepped out from under the arch of the portico ceiling. Wouldn't you know it, it was raining out there! I was able to take some refuge under the umbrella of the gentlemen whose view I blocked when I stood up (I can't help that I am roughly twice the average Filipino's size.) He was kind enough to hold his umbrella over my head the entire rest of the Mass. However, since there were two of us under there, my chest and shoulders somewhat encroached beyond the protective circle, and accordingly got rained on for the entire Mass. There also seemed to be a hole in the umbrella, somewhere in the vicinity of directly over the back of my head. 

The choir, however, was awesome, and the crowds of Filipinos standing in the rain to worship the newborn King was such an incredible experience, I not only did not care, I felt like spontaneously enacting a remix of Gene Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain" routine, combined Piano Guys' style with "Angels We Have Heard on High."

Sometimes when I am sitting in a chair at the kitchen table, working at school, or a blog, or some other VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT!!!!! my fiancee' will come up behind me and kiss the top of my head, and I know that she wants me to pause what I am doing and look up into her face and see her for a second. Good things happen then.

The rain on my head is something like that. God wants me to pause and look up and see Him for a second, so that good things can happen.

Perhaps that is why He is taking all the hair off the top of my head, so that I can feel His touch more readily.

Blessed Be He!
Merry Christmas All!

Weekend Pics

 

I felt like taking a break from my post series on man-woman interraction (it was getting a bit heavy) and instead share some pics from last weekend.





Usually it takes me most of the weekend to catch up on all the things I have left undone over the week. Working my schedule doesn't leave a lot of time for grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, college, or blogging. These end up being weekend things.

This leaves me in the odd position of being nearly as busy on my Saturdays as I am every other day of the week. But last Sunday I managed to have everything accomplished that I needed to have accomplished, so I took a drive out to Sunnyside Beach.

I have seen Sunnyside sunny before. It is rare but it does happen.

Clearly the trash can is just too far away from the bench. Getting the trash from the bench to the can is definitely above and beyond the call of duty and the strength of mere mortals.

I like driftwood.

There is something awesome about gray days, when the wind comes whipping in off the sound, and no one wants to be out because it's raining. You have the whole place to yourself and you can just walk along the shore and listen to the waves.

It rains off and on all year in western Washington. Apart from the two or three months in the summer, the rest of the year is just one long punctuated shower. It can get dreary, but I don't mind it so much as long as I go out in it once in a while.

I love these poplars, so huge and majestic. They just stand so straight, like they are proud to be there.

I like trees in general. The older and bigger they are, the more I like them.

Perfect place for a pipe and a good book.

A pipe brings words to the lips of the wise, and shuts up the mouth of the fool. You'll notice I'm not talking.

Listen to the rain rain rain come down down down.

The trains go by pretty regularly. It's like they're on a schedule or something.

I love fog as well. And twilight (the time of day, not the book/movie). Foggy twilights have a special beauty all their own.

That ferry... Hmmmm... I might need to check that out some time. See where that goes.
Life is beautiful. Rainy days are beautiful. God is good. Sometimes it's important to remember things like that.