Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

         "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus underneath the mistletoe last night." Many Christmas songs, movies, decorations, television specials, and even hats are sprinkled with thoughts of mistletoe. Mistletoe is a waxy green plant that sucks the life out of other plants, but when couples meet under this plant, they are supposed to share a kiss.  Students at Harding have even put their own twist on this concept with an activity they like to call "mistletoeing." Calling students out of their dorm only to to attack and kiss them with a sprig of mistletoe in hand has become a favorite holiday pastime of some Harding students. Why would a parasitic plant be the cause for kissing? Mistletoe has a rich history that extends back to ancient times.

Mistletoe is present in winter even when most other plants are dead or dying. Ancient people saw it as a miracle plant. Even its name implies the magical powers they thought it had.  Mistletoe comes from the Old English mistel, which means dung, and tan, which means twig. They thought life came from the bird droppings left on the trees. The Greeks and Celts took that as a sign that God had saved and therefore made it sacred.  They even went as far as to say that understanding where mistletoe comes from was the key to understanding God. Scandinavian warriors would stop mid battle if they saw mistletoe, taking it as a sign from God to cease fighting. Mistletoe was a symbol of peace.

Mistletoe moved from a symbol of peace to a symbol of protection. People hung it on the door frames of their houses to ward off enemies and wild beasts who might attack their house. They even hung it over their babies' cribs to chase away evil spirits and illness. Even though raw it was poisonous, they diluted it and used it to treat epilepsy, apoplexy, palsy, tuberculosis, and stroke. 

Although many believed in its healing powers, the Norse had a different view. They believed that mistletoe was the most lethal weapon available. They made arrows out of the plant and believed that once struck by this deadly arrow, the only way you could be revived was to be fed some of the red berries that grew with the mistletoe. These believed restorative powers led to the current practice of mistletoe.

Mistletoe became a symbol of love, affection, and restoration.  When couples passed under the green sprig with red berries, they kissed. If a couple met under the mistletoe and kissed, it was said to bring them everlasting love. To make sure this practice was not abused by overzealous (or desperate) young men, for every kiss shared under the mistletoe, a red berry was removed. When the berries were gone, the restorative powers were said to be gone and, in theory, the kissing was gone too.

Christianity developed much symbolism from mistletoe and its meaning of love.  For Christians, mistletoe did not symbolize weak, faltering, fading and changing with the day human love. It symbolized the powerful, never weakening, undying love of Jesus. Jesus is our mistletoe because his body was nailed to a tree with no life in it, but out of that death came life for us all. He is all of the ideas and beliefs about mistletoe wrapped into one. Like the Scandinavian warriors believed about mistletoe, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Like the people in ancient times believed about mistletoe, Jesus is life among death.  Like others believed about mistletoe, he cast away our enemies and the beast that is always after us. Maybe the Greeks and Celts had it right when they said that understanding mistletoe was they key to understanding God, for Jesus is the mistletoe that brings life to a dead and dying world. The French even believed that as Jesus was dying, a single sprig of mistletoe grew on the cross symbolizing God's undying love for his people.

I today's world, mistletoe has lost its profound message. Now, mistletoe is simply about kissing, merry-making, and practical jokes played on new couples. Christmas has become less about Christ and more about us. I wonder what kind of uproar would be caused in church if the doorways were all decorated with bright green sprigs of mistletoe. Jaws would drop and heads would shake at the atrocities crowning the doorway. Maybe it would be a good idea to bring to light the powerful symbolism of mistletoe to the church and bring back the stunning idea of Jesus being our mistletoe.

I'm 19

Today is my 19th birthday and it has been great. People called me, mailed me things, greeted me around campus, sang to me, baked for me, took me to Sonic, carried my backpack, and tonight I'm going to eat with some friends.  But today in Composition one, after I was given the much anticipated "birthday pencil", we talked about our mortality. We discussed how every year, we celebrate a birthday, but we also celebrate a death day. We just don't know which day it is. I know it sounds kid of depressing, but I found it intriguing. We need to take every single day and get the most out of it and give the most that we can. We can never get yesterday back and we are not certain of tomorrow. All we have is today. Use the time given to you wisely.

Singing in Prison

Tonight I went with my choir and sang in Newport Women's Prison. I didn't really want to go. There was supposed to be good food in the Caf tonight along with a semi-formal atmosphere, it was below freezing outside, I was tired...there were many contributing factors to me not wanting to get on a bus and drive for 45 minutes, take another 45 min. to get through security to sing for people forced to listen to us. At least that was my philosophy. After our first song, these convicted felons burst into applause and stood for our choir. It took me by surprise. We sang some more and the reaction was just as enthusiastic every time. Wow. After we had sung a few songs, the prison choir (that a previous member of Harding's Concert Choir who was sentenced to prison time but is now released had started 8ish years earlier) sang a few songs including "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" and another song all about how Jesus' blood washes away all of our sins. They obviously meant what they were singing and it was extremely moving.  Then our choir got up and sang a few more songs. When we sang "The Lord Bless You and Keep You", and we sang it TO them, looking at their faces, tears flowed down the inmates' faces.

             So even though I came in with a bad attitude, God blessed me tonight with the inmates of Newport Women's Prison. I feel like they ministered more to me than I did to them.

By the way, most are in for drugs, but one out of  six of the women there are convicted of murder, including several of the members of the Prison Choir. The blood of Jesus covers a multitude of sins. :)

I'm On a Roll

Writing is like a roll of toilet paper.  You may look at this strange comparison and think, "Where in the world is she going with this one?" But when you look closely, there are several similarities between these two seemingly unrelated topics.

In the same way that people use way too much toilet paper and it ends up clogging the drain pipes, some people use way too many adjectives and superfluous words just to make themselves sound smarter, add up more word count and add fluff to their paper and it ends up congesting their paper and making them sound stupid and brainless and like they do not know what they are talking about.

If you use toilet paper way too fast and carelessly, you are going to miss some things. Time is crucial when you are writing a paper. You cannot just spit out an amazing paper without putting in the time and effort necessary to write it correctly. If you start writing your paper the night before and edit your paper the morning it is due, you are not going to catch all of the mistakes you made or the sentences that could be improved. Take the time you need to create your best work.

Sometimes, toilet paper sticks to your shoe. You walk around the whole day with a trail of white, flowing toilet paper following your every step. Good writing can also stick with you for a while. Unlike the toilet paper, good writing is not embarrassing when someone points it out to you. A thoughtfully written essay can stay in your readers' minds and even help them with future problems and discussions.

Toilet paper has many different brand names plastered on its shrink-wrapped packaging. Boasting of its double cotton ply, ultra softness, or unmatchable strength, toilet paper is proud of its features. Plenty of research goes into the production of toilet paper. Be proud of your work! It is going to have your name on it. Work on it as if you had to sell it to somebody. If you would not want to buy it, nobody would.

This was an assignment for my Comp I class. I had a blast writing it and I hope you enjoyed it.