The Christmas rush

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 31, 24 December 1985, Page 20 (Supplement)

The Christmas rush

Christmas is once again almost here, and for some of us it tends to produce a feeling of real panic. So much to do and so little time in which to get everything done. And then when we hear of what others have done and are doing, it gets worse — we haven't done that either. How will we ever get everything that needs doing done? Some of us find the only way to slow the feelings of panicky hopelessness is to make up a list of all the things needing to be done,

and then add all the things that it would be nice to also achieve. From that list we choose the most important and steadily work our way through the list, and usually manage to get everything done — and often much more. That list has the effect of slowing us down, and it is sometimes only by slowing down that we can go faster. I recently read that when two orbiting space vehicles want to try and link up with each other they have to slow down, not speed up. It's apparently a situation quite different from two planes that rendezvous for an in-flight re-fueling. In this procedure the plane behind merely increases its speed until it is able to overtake and hook up with the other aircraft. But this does not work in outer space. To accelerate the trailing spacecraft would put it into a higher orbit, causing it to move away and widen the gap. The ship's commander must therefore act against all natural instincts and slow down, dropping his craft into a lower orbit. This enables him to catch up so that he can manoeuvre into position and make contact at precisely the right moment. And so it is with God. He is in outer space — in fact He is the God of all space — and to catch up with ourselves and with Him we have to slow down and let Him rendezvous with us. With God all things are possible and by linking up with Him we can achieve the seemingly impossible. Our natural instincts are not always right. They need to be linked with the supernatural. Is God in charge of your

life? He along can make Christmas exactly what it should be, because He sent His Son at Christmas to show us the way. F. Eves