For many the above image is simple.  Broken into parts, it is nothing more than cranberries and popcorn strung together on sewing thread.  Others will see the cost, time, and effort to assemble such a decoration.   Both of these scenarios ring true, but there is at least one more layer that holds my attention this day, as  these cranberries and popcorn invite me to consider, “How do I fill my life (the string) well?”

On the occasion of this garlands making, my life was rich with the shared moment with my daughter. We sat, shared a holiday movie, ate, drank, and laughed. We dwelled together. What could be perceived as work was actually a sacred moment of immersing our stories together. A moment that can only be held together by us. To call it special would be trite. It was a moment of peace and companionship, and all that is good, warm, comforting, healing, tender, and restoritive.

Today, as I touch the cranberries and popcorn, as I must put away goods into boxes to move, soak in the dwelling times I have had. As I hold this garland tenderly, i choose to let it remind me that we can string together and fill life with color, robustness, and radience that awakens the solid color backgrounds of existence.

Cranberries and popcorn, not just decorations for a tree, but garland for our heart, filling the voids of loss and inviting us to see hope and possibilities.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Welcome to the cranberries and popcorn of 2024.

PS.  This post is dedicated to Noelle.  Thank you for stringing cranberries and popcorn with me.   For the joy you bring to my life.