The festivities of the Christmas season are winding down.  Chayo and Roberto returned to school today.   

As I drove Chayo down to the village in the morning darkness to catch the bus we were captivated by a bright star over the ocean.  Maybe it was the morning star.  

I thought of yesterday’s celebration of the magi and how they ventured out on an epic journey because of an extraordinary congruence of planets –  a pretty crazy idea.  

I watch for the star as I weave under the trees and cross the river into the village.  What star am I following?  What kind of crazy hope is my goal?  

Then I have an epiphany, and that is what the feast of the magi is called, Epiphany!  It means an appearance or manifestation.   What crazy kind of synchronization is this?

My epiphany is that I am on a journey and Christ, who is also called the Morning Star, is my Star; and the camel I’m riding is a radical, looney faith that is supposed to traverse this desert journey through a world gone mad.

I heard a song on the radio the other day and the refrain, “a heart full of hope”, resonated in me.  I thought, Hey, it feels good to have gotten this old and to still feel this way.  

It turns out that the lyrics are “a heart full of holes”.  That could have been my song too but my heart is pretty well patched.

As I opened the gate to return to the house I had another epiphany. It came on slow like the dawn’s light coming over the mountain.  It feels right to have Chayo in our lives.  It’s crazy too.  We had different ideas for slow-living but I find myself softened to what is happening, open to something-someone we hadn’t even thought to ask for. 

The image of following a star is how I enter the New Year. We all have eyes on the horizon of the morning sky to see what light rises to illuminate the way ahead. I am feeling tremendously grateful for a sense of joy and anticipation over what is coming this year.

May a star rise above you to guide you through this year too.  May you have a feast of epiphanies, new ways of seeing the things that are already true and on their way to you.