This week we’ve been painting the office suite where I work. It’s in a great location with lots of cool places nearby, but the building itself is pretty dingy. I’ve been dying to paint, de-clutter, and organize ever since I came to work here three years ago. Now the time has come. When my boss said she was embarrassed to have someone important come by the office, I jumped on it. “Have you considered painting?” I asked. “I would love to paint!” she answered. “I’ll do it!” the words nearly fell over themselves in their hurry to get out of my mouth. My answer to any task that will improve the look and function of this place is “I’ll do it!” Prime and paint the ugly laminate bookcases? I’ll do it! Clean out the dark and dirty storage closet? I’ll do it! I feel like Pig Will in Richard Scarry’s book. “I will,” said Pig Will. “I won’t,” said Pig Won’t. And what happened to Pig Won’t? He got a spanking. Meanwhile this Pig Will is going to have a cool workspace.Yesterday I woke up with a lovely Christmas song from Over the Rhine stuck in my head. I meditated on the beautiful words as I rolled Belgian Waffle on the walls and thought about making things new. “Darlin’ (Christmas is Coming)” seems very fitting right now. Sure, it’s June, but for those of us who still think of time in semesters it’s the end of an old year and the beginning of something new. Friends are moving—some to other states and some just a few blocks. I will have a different roommate in a couple of months. It’s a time of transition, and sliding creamy yellow paint over grimy walls to make them new and clean reminds me of God’s mercies that are new every morning. I love that Over the Rhine opens “Darlin’ (Christmas is Coming)” with, “So it’s been a long year / Every new day brings one more tear / Till there’s nothing left to cry.” It’s a recognition that we all still have burdens to bear, but mercy and forgiveness can still break through. Darlin’ the snow is falling / Falling like forgiveness from the sky.
Download a free MP3 of “Darlin’ (Christmas is Coming” from the generous folks of Over the Rhine. The album Snow Angels is sold out but will be re-released this fall.
