When What We Get Looks Nothing Like We Wanted

I was six or seven the Christmas I got my first Barbie. I knew exactly the Barbie I wanted--the one to the right, which aficionados know as 1959 vintage brunette Barbie with ponytail. I marked her in the catalogs we received in the mail. I put her on my list to Santa. I told my mom how much I wanted brunette Barbie with ponytail. Barbies were expensive, and I didn't expect to get a second one for a long time.

On Christmas morning under the tree, I found... bubble cut blond Barbie.

I hope I hid my disappointment.

As time went on, I grew to love that doll. When the hair started looking ratty on my friends' Barbies with ponytails, bubble cut Barbie's 'do still was fresh. I had her for years, until the bottom of her head cracked too much. (That was before Mattel told us to put on Barbie's clothes from the feet up, "like the fashion models do.")

I'm thinking this Advent about Barbie. She wasn't the gift I wanted, but she turned out to the best gift for me. And I think about how people of the times generally didn't understand how Jesus's birth and life fulfilled the prophecies. Some rejected Him because of that. Some rejected Him because He wasn't the warrior king they wanted. And so, Barbie helps me remember that what we need may look nothing like what we want, and to trust in God's wisdom and love.

On the Nightstand: Consumed

I freely confess to being a Heather King groupie. She describes herself as "an ex-lawyer, a sober alcoholic of 35 years, a Catholic convert, and a lover of books, film, and art." She's one of the finest memoirists writing today. (I especially love her one-word-title books, including Parched, Redeemed, and Stripped.) So when her essay collection came out last month (subtitled "The Joys, Sufferings and Debacles of a Life Ordered to Art"), I jumped on it.

I just started reading Consumed, and I'm already, well, consumed. This is what King says about why she writers, put much better than I could. I hope it also describes why you do what you do:

It's all about Christ. It's wanting to get closer to Christ and to share that with people, the excitement, the weirdness.

What's on your nightstand?

Remember what I said about Barbie at the beginning of this newsletter? In a way, that's what I'll be talking about at an in-person and virtual retreat this Friday and Saturday at the Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer in Watchung, NJ. I'm informally calling it "Advent: What are you waiting for... and how do you react when it comes?" I hope you'll join me.

On Thursday, I'll be meeting virtually with women from a parish in Pensacola, FL, who have been reading my book Unforgettable Women of the Gospels.

Just before Christmas, my sister and I will spend four days in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley at one of our favorite retreat centers.

In January, I'll be joining some other folks making plans for Living Faith's first-ever retreat day March 29 near St. Louis, MO. We're almost sold out, so if you're interested, please register now!

I'm praying you'll embrace this Advent! Blessings, Melanie