Entering "the Doldrums"

One of my favorite children’s books is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster. The story begins when a very bored young Milo returns home from school one day to find a tollbooth kit in his room. He quickly assembles it, takes the map offered and drives his toy car through the tollbooth. At once he finds himself in the Land of Expectations. Enjoying the ride he pays no attention and suddenly finds himself in a dreary place called “the Doldrums.” Every thing is colorless. Neither thinking nor laughing is permitted, and nothing much happens in this very stagnant place.

While there is a great deal more to the story (I’ll let you read it to find out how it all turns out), it seems to me that the first chapters of The Phantom Tollbooth describe exactly where we find ourselves as the Christmas season gives way to a lengthy, and what can feel colorless, Epiphany. The Christmas season gives rise to all sorts of expectations. Each year we struggle to make Christmas more wonderful than the last. We decorate lavishly, purchase lovely presents to make our children and others smile, we eat more than we should, rush around like mad people to get it all done and then, somehow – Christmas just doesn’t live up to our expectations - often times because we expected that all the bustle, glitter and gifts will fill the empty places inside us. By mid-January, the second Sunday after the Epiphany, we suddenly discover we have arrived in “the Doldrums.” The Christmas decorations have been put away, the tree has been dragged to its final resting place and the credit card bills have arrived. We find ourselves agreeing with Milo, “It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time.”

It is hard under all the clutter of what Christmas has come to be in our culture to find the meaning of what Christmas IS for Christians – that miraculous discovery that GOD IS WITH US!!!! We often feel let down in our Christmas expectations because we haven’t been expecting what we find at the manger. Milo is reminded, "Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens." Christmas is not about what we expect; it is the ultimate revelation of the unexpected. God made flesh is both far simpler and way more complicated than we thought we wanted or needed. God’s coming to us in a human baby transforms our human experience. Our lives are lifted up and made meaningful because our goodness is restored and we realize we have been invited into partnership with God in re-creating the world. Our lives become far more than a “waste of time.” But we have to be looking for that truth. Milo is told, "There is much worth noticing that often escapes the eye." Distracted by the glitter and the bustle of what Christmas has become, we miss God being born among us. What is "worth noticing" about the Christmas season, many times "escapes" our eyes.

As Epiphany unfolds, we continue to catch the glimmers of the truth of God’s transforming love for us. We yearn for the deeper meaning even though we feel sometimes that we, like Milo, are stumbling around in the colorless miasma of life without joy and excitement. What lies underneath “the Doldrums” is the fear of disappointed hope in a yearning we are afraid to name. Yet, we continue to yearn for that meaning in our lives.

As wise character in The Phantom Tollbooth speaking about meaning and purpose reminds Milo, “You know that it's there, but you just don't know where - but just because you can never reach it doesn't mean that it's not worth looking for.” And that is what the season of Epiphany is about – it is about both our deepest yearning and how we are led to look for it. But unlike Milo, we KNOW where to look. The Star that illuminated Bethlehem and led the shepherds and the wisemen to the baby Jesus, still shines for us today. Gradually, as we follow ray by ray, “the Doldrums” becomes filled with light and in that light, we see the gift we have been given in the baby Jesus and the gifts our hearts make in response. It is this light that lifts us from “the Doldrums.” We may not know what our ultimate destination will look like- and it will be beyond our wildest expectations - but as long as we keep following the Star’s light, we can be confident we will get there. The light will continue to get brighter and brighter the closer we get.

So here is your assignment for this Season after the Epiphany. Get yourself a copy of The Phantom Tollbooth. Read it aloud to your kids. Follow the light, as Milo drives his toy car towards it. His arrival at the place of light is miraculous to behold and is one of my favorite images of what it means to co-create with Jesus the Kingdom of God. Let me know what you think!

Faithfully,
Elizabeth