Indigo Christmas

You ain't been blue; no, no, no.
You ain't been blue,
Till you've had that mood indigo.
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
While I sit and sigh, "Go 'long blues."

Always get that mood indigo,
Since my baby said goodbye.
In the evenin' when lights are low,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
I'm just a soul who's
bluer that blue can be.
When I get that mood indigo,
I could lay me down and die.
("Mood Indigo," lyrics by Irving Mills)

On the longest night and busiest shopping day of the year... in the midst of cold and gray... facing full calendars and empty bank accounts... it's understandable if a person feels blue. Clouded by memories of the past and regrets for the present, many feel so lonesome they could cry. Missing loved ones and wondering about the future, indigo is just right.

Trying to navigate the hurly-burly, some lash out with anger: bitter because they feel that they've been suckered into feeling this way. Crying out: "Keep Christ in Christmas!" or "Jesus is the reason for the season" they are tempted to blame others for their blahs. "If only all that other stuff wasn't getting in the way, maybe I'd enjoy this."

Some fall into self-pity seeing only saccharine in the holiday cards that come in the mail, in cookies from Wal-mart stacked on the counters, and in the lineup of plastic wreaths, "'cause there's nobody who cares about me." Hearing Andy Williams piped out along the sidewalk by city hall, some sing to themselves: "I'm just a soul who's bluer than blue can be."

The Word of God found in Scripture suddenly gets lumped into a pile of green and red LED lights. "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good will to all" shares space with Buddy Elf's four groups: Candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.

But the Word is exactly the place to find light dawning among the gray and blue and indigo. Let's leave the little town of Bethlehem for a moment and head up to Nazareth. An angel is approaching a young woman with a message. She will have a child who will save his people from sin. The young woman, Mary, can't understand it. It's impossible. She can't possibly be pregnant. Ahh.. and this is where that great line comes in, spot of orange appears in the sea of blue. "Nothing is impossible with God."

Nothing is impossible with God... A double negative that gives birth to life.

We can dwell in these blues... and be honest about them. It may be how you feel right now. Know, though, that God is with you in that indigo field. In Christ, God takes the nothing and impossible and gives us Emmanuel to meet us exactly where we are. God swirls the blues and the indigos into bright oranges, yellows and reds. God transforms gray clouds and cold air into his warm, comforting embrace. God will grab hold of this longest night and shortest day to present us with a gift of hope we can hold on to.

Nothing is impossible with God... A double negative on Indigo Christmas that tells us that a new day is dawning.