By Rick Hinton
“So this is Christmas. And what have you done? Another year over. And a new one just begun.” Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon, 1971.
It’s the holidays, and sometimes you just have to do it: grab the dictionary off the shelf and spend some time leafing through thin pages to a couple of words that have remained a question: Webster’s dictionary defines paranormal as “Not scientifically explainable; outside the realm of normal knowledge or description.” Supernatural, however, is more detailed, “Relating to an order of existence beyond the visible universe; departing from what is usual or normal, so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature; attributed to an invisible agent existing outside the forces of nature.”
Two descriptions of the same thing. Yet, two different realities when it comes to the holidays and Christmas.
The road to the supernatural started in our childhood with Santa’s annual visit, never mind the logistics of such a feat. As a child it was mystery without equal, culminating as Christmas Eve melded into the early morning hours. The evidence was in — a half-eaten plate of cookies (with crumbs spread around for effect) and a glass of milk not quite finished. Toys were assembled around the tree. Santa had been there! And the feeling, after awakening, that something beyond the ordinary had occurred while we slept.
The dictionary also states, “Relating to God; miraculous or divine.
This past Sunday, Elevation Church’s Pastor Tony Smith spoke of “no room at the inn” and how baby Jesus started his sojourn on earth. Placed in a manger at a stable meant for animals outside of Bethlehem, it was no coincidence … no random choice of fate. It was meant to be! This is the season we recognize the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If His birth, and relatively short walk upon this earth, His death and resurrection is not supernatural in nature, then I don’t know what is! His infinite love, patience and blessings, consistently transforming our lives, is nothing short of the supernatural … or paranormal for that matter. I believe. Do you?
And the supernatural — or paranormal —as it relates to the ghostly realm during this time of year? It’s said the holidays might just promote this activity. Maybe it has something to do with our state of mind, emotions, or even acceptance when realizing we don’t understand everything, and probably never will. I miss my mother! She really hones in to me at Christmas, yet she has still to visit me — after her death—from Kentucky to Indiana. That, however, doesn’t mean she never will. The search for the existence of the spiritual world will continue, trying to make sense of something “out of the ordinary.” It might be Santa … it should be Jesus … it could be ghosts. Maybe you haven’t experienced any of these for yourself, yet that doesn’t make it any less plausible. Your time may not have come.
As with the supernatural aspects of Santa, and certainly the validation there is a God and Jesus dwelt among us for a short time, it is, after all, a big mysterious world out there! Don’t turn your mind off to the possibilities! Merry Christmas!
