The arrowhead
By Steven Polley
Director, Office of Youth Ministry and Religious Education
Earlier this summer I attended a family reunion. As with most reunions there were many stories told of years past. But several of the stories shared by cousins of mine spoke of how they would travel to Kit Carson and spend time each summer on the farm with us, and my brother and I in turn would travel to Pueblo and spend time with them. As with all of us, we often look back to years past think about how much simpler life was back then. At least I think that life moved, or seemed to move, a little slower then.
Over the past week we have heard in the news about the long lines of people waiting, some sleeping in their cars, others in tents outside of stores, for the new video games. I have heard that some people bought these games, then sold them on e-Bay for amounts as high as $10,000. Someone made a profit, but I question why anyone would pay this amount for a video game. But then, I know that I spend money foolishly in other areas. But to wait in this way is simply not that important to me. For others I know that it is. But to me this is one example of the fast paced society in which we live. A far cry from years past.
In past columns I have written about growing up on the farm, and how, if we had a good day, we might be able to cover 40 acres of ground. Of course today, 40 acres is covered in nothing flat. But back then, driving that open-air tractor at a very slow speed had its advantages. One afternoon I was going along looking down and I spotted an almost perfect arrowhead. Lucky for me, I was able to hit the clutch and get stopped just before the tire ran over it. I still have this arrowhead. I believe that if I would have been driving a larger tractor or going at a faster speed I would have missed the arrowhead all together.
So here we are, going from a slow paced find of an arrowhead to the fast paced video games and hectic schedules so many of our youth have. Even as they move toward the end of another semester of school, life can seem overwhelming. I am constantly reminded of how thin our young people are spread, moving from school, to work, to extracurricular activities, etc. Let us then make a conscious effort this Advent to help each of them slow down just a little.
My invitation for all of us is that as we enter into this Advent season, this time of waiting to celebrate Christ’s Incarnation, that we not only take this opportunity for ourselves, but for our young people as well, to help them slow down: to slow down taking time to reflect on God’s presence in all of creation; to use this Advent season as a time of preparation, looking to the joy of the Christmas season that awaits us.