Sandals in Snowdrifts
When I travel to a tropical climate in winter, I dress for the destination, not my local weather. That means showing up at Edmonton International Airport in shorts, a t-shirt, and a ball cap. It looks and feels ridiculous. Those clothes don’t offer the protection needed to live well in northern Canada. I wouldn’t last very long and likely wouldn’t make it on a walk around my block at home.
My choice makes sense only when the plane lands, and I’m greeted by warm, humid air. The emotional payoff is very rewarding.
I’ve learned it’s never a good idea to try to negotiate with reality. It's a standard I hold in business and life. That said, I do try to clothe my lifestyle with hope for the world I want to live in, even if my choices seem ill-suited at the moment.
At Christmas, we adopt attitudes that look toward a hopeful, life-giving future. Acts of generosity, goodwill, kindness, and compassion become our way of living out hope, standing in contrast to the difficulties the year has brought. Generosity swims against the currents created by unsustainable and fragile economies. The daily news would suggest that we invest our energies into looking out for ourselves because the worst is yet to come.
The qualities of grace are metaphorical pairs of sandals being used to walk through snowdrifts.
I’m inspired by the prophet Isaiah's words in the Bible, which paint a picture of a beautiful future where…
“...They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.” -Isaiah 2:4
This future world prophesied by Isaiah is one in which seeds and a garden trowel are the warrior's tools of choice. The world he’s foretelling makes no sense in a conflict-driven world. It’s backwards. You don’t bring vegetables to a gunfight.
This powerful image presents a vulnerability and trust in an outcome beyond rational thought. Back to my original metaphor, Isaiah is the prophet who sees a world where people wear sandals in the snow and live well. His vision teaches us that, one day, reality will yield to the power of faith, hope, and love. Not the other way around.
To fully live out the spirit of Christmas is to be like a character in a time-travel movie who’s from the distant future, brought to our present day, and whose lifestyle stands out uncomfortably in the world of the past. Christmas is the season to let hope guide our imagination—to dream of a world where the machines of war and violence no longer have purpose.
And live like it is so.
The Christmas season does not exclude those who choose a secular lifestyle; you don’t have to be religious to find value in this idea of hopeful expectation.
The season of Advent is a time to ask: How am I living as one who belongs to a future kingdom of peace? In what ways have I surrendered power and chosen peace, even when it feels out of place or difficult? I want my life to reflect the hope I have for what lies ahead, living today as though I were already at my destination.
The Bible also says that “beautiful are the feet that bring the good news,” but those feet may sometimes be required to wear sandals in the snow. When those feet reach a sandy beach, the world will rejoice.
Dear Friend, I wish you a restful holiday season and may you have moments to dream of peace.