English 777: Christmas as Literature---Merry Christmas!!

I'm sorry if I get a little too deep, loquacious, English major-y, or preachy in this post. I write about things I care and think about, and I count the content this post as one of those things.

Other than reading books, poems, and short stories I love for assignments, one of my favorite things about having been an English major is interpreting symbols and meaning in texts. Symbols allow us to understand abstract concepts more clearly. Likewise, one of my favorite things about Christmas is that it is completely filled with fun symbols and interpretation.

Some meanings of symbols are easy to see.

Candles and twinkle lights represent the light that Christ brings to the world. Even during dark nights, their, and His, light can be seen.

Wreaths symbolize the endless nature of God's love and the eternal life we can have with Him.

Just as the evergreen (especially the now popular fake tree) never dies, the love of Christ never fails or fades.

The star guided the shepherds and kings to the Savior just as He guides us through life back to Him.

Gifts symbolize the gifts brought by the kings and, obviously and more importantly, the gift God provides for us--His Son (John 3:17).



Candy canes resemble shepherd crooks. (Shepherds are one of my favorite symbols in Christianity. I'll talk about shepherds more later.)

The humble setting in which the Savior was born foreshadowed His living conditions through life--humble and lowly.

It seems that almost everything about Christmas points to the Savior. But lately, a few symbols or representations have stuck out to me.

As I thought about how "cold" it is getting, I started wondering what winter had to do with Christmas, other than that's when we have this holiday. Why is the celebration of the Savior's birth in the season when much in nature dies?

Again, I might be stretching here, but these are the thoughts I had. The birth of the Savior, as miraculous and beautiful as it was, only served to bring Him to the earth for His real purpose: to atone for the world, to save the natural man, to help us return to Him. Before He came, fallen mankind had spiritually died or was spiritually separated from God. Before He came, people could only hope that He would come to save them. "The hopes and fears of all the years are met in [Bethlehem] tonight" ("O Little Town of Bethlehem"). His birth interrupts this state, and when He performed the Atonement, was crucified, and was resurrected, He overcame man's fallen state, a spiritual death or separation from God. We can now experience a rebirth and live again with God because of Jesus Christ. Similarly, Easter, the celebration of His death (and obviously His Atonement and Resurrection as well), comes at a time when life in nature is restored. In this way, nature serves as a symbol for man's relationship with God.

There are so many meanings, messages, and responsibilities associated with shepherds. When we refer to the Savior as our shepherd, we usually think of the one lost sheep He saves (Luke 15:4-7) and how that applies to all of us. We also think of our roles as stewards to help those around us by feeding His sheep (John 21:15-17). I love these interpretations; they add so much depth to my understanding of the Savior and my relationship with Him.

But I've come to see shepherds in a different light as well. Jesus repeatedly says, "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine" (John 10:14). At BYU my New Testament professor, Dr. Parker, told a story about a shepherd he met in Israel. When Dr. Parker approached this shepherd, he noticed that the shepherd was wearing a bulging sling closely tied across his chest. Drawing closer, Dr. Parker realized the shepherd had an injured lamb in the sling. When asked how the lamb was injured, the shepherd admitted to breaking the lamb's leg--on purpose. He said that the lamb would not come when he called its name, so he broke the lamb's leg, so that it would need to be held close to him and learn to recognize his voice and come to him when beckoned. This story has meant a lot to me as I have gone through difficult times. Sometimes we need to endure trials to know Him more, to recognize His voice, to follow when we are beckoned.

In ancient and modern Israel, shepherds cared for the sheep that would be used for sacrifices. But in Exodus, the Lord says that only a firstborn lamb can be used for specific sacrifices (Exo. 13:2-3). So shepherds must witness the birth of the firstborn lamb and present that firstborn lamb for a sacrifice. In the Christmas story, after they witness the birth of the baby Jesus, the shepherds "made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child," this Messiah, this Savior, this Firstborn Lamb of God (Luke 2:17). They are witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this way, we need to be shepherds just to bear witness of the divinity of the Savior. At this time of year, I feel it is appropriate to share my feelings about the reason we have this holiday. I testify that I know Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that He lives and loves each of us. He was born that He might live to save us from our sins, to die, and to live again.

Merry Christmas, everyone!! Enjoy the wonderful spirit of the season!!!!

Hobby

I consider myself a pretty well-rounded person. I play volleyball and some other sports, sing, write and edit, play the piano (a little), make scrapbook-y cards, and cook (albeit grudgingly).

Lately, I've had the urge to branch out in all directions. Just thinking about it makes my head hurt. I want to make ridiculously incredible home decorations and furniture myself. I want to paint on canvas. I want to photograph artistically. I want to be involved in theatre productions. I want to try to write a book. I want to make beautiful flower arrangements. I want to read more books. I want to learn a few other languages. I want to join a city league for volleyball. I want to do anything and everything artistic and fun that I possibly can think of. See my problem?

I've tried to narrow down my list of desired hobbies, but I can't bring myself to get rid of any of them. Tracy recommended keeping all of them on the list but just working on a few at a time. But then I have to decide which ones to do first. I'm being silly and childish, but I really want all of them, and I want them now!! :)

Any suggestions? I'll let you know what I decide to focus on, but it will definitely be a difficult decision.

Before I Die

I really like lists!! I fill notebooks with them. This list was particularly fun to write.

It might seem strange that I’ve compiled a list of things to do before I die. I’m only twenty-two years old for crying out loud! But I’ve learned in the past couple of years that time flies by, and lately I’ve realized that unless I keep these goals of what I want to accomplish in mind, I might never complete them.

Some of these things are things I would like to do, but I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to. Others I must do before I die (for example, going to Britain). Although I realize that some of these goals are far fetched, I’d like to think none are completely out of my reach. I guess if anything else, this list tells you how imaginative and hopeful I am.

Go to Britain—I must do this!! Did I already say that? I’d like to go for at least two weeks, but I’ll go there for as long as I can. Tracy promised me he’d take me there when we got engaged. I would rather go to Britain than anywhere else on this planet!!

Go to Hawaii or on a cruise (I’ve never experienced this and would like to someday.)

Go to New York City and see a show (or perhaps several) on Broadway (That is, if I can convince Tracy to come and if I bring a pillow for him to sleep on while I watch it.)

Be in another musical (perhaps even be the lead!)

Record my singing on a CD (Obviously it won’t be professionally done and my voice won’t be heard on the radio, but I would like to record my voice on better technology than a twenty-year-old tape recorder.)

Take my kids to Disneyland (or Disneyworld)

Have a garden (both with food and flowers)

Learn French, Latin, Italian and/or Portuguese (I doubt I could learn all of these languages, but I would love to. This list is in order of priority. Since Tracy already knows Portuguese, I figure he can just translate for me. J)

Complete a somewhat impressive visual piece of art (whether a painting or something else) This one might be a little too far out there for my abilities.

Edit for a magazine or book publishing company (even if it’s just for less than a year)

Write a book—not sure whether fiction or nonfiction. I haven’t decided if I actually want to do this. Ironically, I prefer novels written before 1900, mostly from Britain, so it’ll be interesting if I decide to write fiction in America now. A bit hypocritical, huh?

Go to Australia and New Zealand with my brother Todd. (Haha! Right! This is one of those more imaginative ones.) We agreed on this trip years ago—other siblings and family are welcome to come too. This probably won’t really happen, but it would be awesome if it did!

Learn to fence (Not required but again this would be awesome!)

Ride a horse up to a gallop and feel comfortable doing so

Get a master’s degree in English literature and teach (Maybe even a PhD and teach at the college level. This again probably won’t happen, but I’ve thought a little bit about it. Who knows? If this does happen, it will come after my kids are older and I have completed most of the other things I want to do before I die.)

As you can see, I’ve got a lot of work and saving to do to accomplish all this before I die.

Two Years of Marriage: The Beginning of a Masterpiece

Today is our second wedding anniversary. Looking back at our marriage so far, Tracy and I seem to sigh, look at each other with exhausted expressions as if to say "whew," and then smile and laugh.

We've been through and done a lot these two years. We've moved twice, lived in three states (four including Arizona for two months), finished school (me), started grad school (Tracy), started new jobs, finished old jobs, dealt with physical problems (my surgery), dealt with financial problems, had a death in the family (Tracy's aunt), and had two new nieces born (one on both sides). I won't lie--we've had hard trials, frustrating arguments, tough decisions, and physically and emotionally painful moments. But we've also had meaningful discussions, sweet reconciliation, sincere expressions of love and kindness, increased closeness, and priceless laughter.

I had an professor at BYU who told me that marriage isn't work; it's art. At first, I just thought that was her marriage. Her husband taught psychology. He knew how women worked more than most men. But I realize what she meant by that now. When an artist creates a piece, he or she spends hours and hours on it, using carefully calculated techniques, paints, and strokes. It is, in a way, work, but the artist doesn't see it as work. The artist keeps in mind the beauty of the end result. He or she uses the goal to guide what strokes, colors, and brushes to use during the process. So while the artist is working to create his or her piece, it isn't work in that the beauty of the piece compensates for the work put into it. I think marriage is beautiful only when we have put time and effort into making it as such. So it technically is work. But we need not see it as tedious or annoying.

Having been married only two years, I can see that our artwork's canvas still has a lot of space and potential left. (The above painting isn't ours, even though it is pretty darn cute.) We're trying to keep the goal in mind, but we're enjoying the little moments along the journey. We love each other and are grateful to everyone who has helped us long our way so far. We are also grateful to the Lord who has blessed our marriage and has helped us through those hard times, so we can get back to those precious happy moments.

Well, Tracy, two years down . . . and eternity to go!!

The Silver Lining to a Very Dark Cloud

Just in case my handful of devoted readers, who mostly were around me when everything was happening, are concerned about my neglected blog, the biggest reason I have not posted anything in so long is that I have been in the hospital.

On June 25 in the year of our Lord 2009, I, Lacey Kupfer Wulf, experienced the worst pain of my life from a ruptured appendix and underwent immediate surgery. Because of extra harmful fluids in my abdomen, fevers, and other complications, I stayed in the hospital for the longest twelve days of my life. For at least six of those days, I was on a strict clear liquid diet of jello, broth, and juice. I was poked with needles daily, woken up at all hours of the night, almost accidentally operated on unnecessarily, and blown up like a balloon with IV fluids. To drain these harmful fluids, the doctor put a tube through my bum, which was soar and uncomfortable, not to mention embarrassing. Perhaps the hardest to bear, because we are in the process of moving, we have no insurance--no guarantee that we will be able to pay the hospital for almost two weeks worth of care.

Although the last two weeks have been horrible, frightening, and discouraging, in reality I have gained so much. This dark rain cloud does have a bright silver lining.
1. I have a year supply of free juice boxes, free bandages, and new thermometers from my hospital room. Yay for $FREE.99!!
2. After I gained ten pounds from IV fluids and after they took me off the IV, I lost fifteen pounds. I'm pretty sure my total weight loss will be more than five pounds though.
3. For almost two weeks, my family got to enjoy cable television, a luxury they do not have at home. TLC's new show Cake Boss is pretty good when you have nothing to do--for all of you with cable and a lot of time.
4. Because of all the poking, I am almost over my fear of needles. (Keyword: ALMOST) I probably could start donating blood now because of it.
5. I have always been a modest person. I would change in the bathroom for PE in school, and I hated bra shopping because my mom would see me without a shirt on. But now after having nurses and doctors ask me about my bowel movements and see me practically naked almost daily and needing my mom to help me shower, I think I'm basically over any embarrassment of exposure.
6. I appreciate my health so much more. I can walk, bend over, get up out of bed, eat normal foods, shower myself (sponge baths aren't that bad, but it's better to do it myself and thanks again, mom!), stand up to brush my teeth, brush my own hair, and do so many other little tasks that were so hard while I was sick. I appreciate my body and its intricacies, even though that's what got me in this mess in the first place.
7. I got to spend more time with my family. Tracy left to find housing in Texas, and although I have missed him a lot, I have my parents and siblings around to visit me. I thank God that this happened to me in Arizona with my family instead of Texas or Washington or Utah or wherever. I truly believe the Lord knew I wouldn't have been able to make it emotionally, especially with Tracy gone, if I didn't have them.
8. I've learned to have patience with myself and the Lord. There were days when I thought I would never get out of the hospital and I would never stop hurting. I was so frustrated that something always hurt, whether it was my stomach or my side. I wanted to go home. I wanted to stop hurting. I wanted to go back to being me. My body is still healing, and I still feel a little frustration with myself, but I know I will get there steadily.

As ashamed as I am to admit this, I remember wondering why I even had my dad and Tracy give me several priesthood blessings--they weren't working in my eyes. I wanted the instant healing. I wanted the pain to stop. I wanted to be home. But I know now that I needed to be there to learn and gain these things (obviously the last few more than the first). I know the Lord puts us in hard situations for our benefit to learn and grow. I hate being in a situation and trying to ask myself, "What can I learn from this? What does the Lord want me to take from this experience?" But it has made the whole mess more bearable. I know the priesthood is a real power, and even though I wasn't instantly healed, I believe in its power and those who carry it. I know He hears our prayers even though He might not grant the blessings we ask for. He loves us individually. He has a plan for each of us that will make us happier and better than our own plans would make us. I know the Savior lives and has born our sins, but even more than that, I know that He has born my sorrows, my pains, my trials, my frustrations, and all the unfair things that happen to me. Even though I'm crying as I write this post, these are tears of joy and love and appreciation to my husband, my family, the doctors, the hospital, modern medicine, and the Lord. I am doing well, and I am happy.

An Argument for Editing

I'm always amazed when I see ads or signs in newspapers, on craigslist, on bilboards or elsewhere. Don't people know how dumb they sound sometimes?!? If only these people would take some time and reread what they submit to print or post . . . If only. These people are why I do what I do. I know I've brought up stupid mistakes before, but I think little reminders every now and then help us remember not to get sloppy or we might stoop to their level.

Braille dictionary for sale. Must see to appreciate.

FOR SALE BY OWNER: Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica. 45 volumes. Excellent condition. $1,000.00 or best offer. No longer needed. Got married last weekend. Wife knows everything.

Help wanted, singer for rock band. Must be female or male.

Lost: small brown poodle. Reward. Neutered. Like one of the family.

For sale: a quilted high chair that can be made into a table, potty chair, rocking horse, refrigerator, spring coat, size 8 and fur collar.

Man wanted to work in dynamite factory. Must be willing to travel.

Christmas sale. Handmade gifts for the hard-to- find person.

Wanted, man to take care of cows that does not smoke or drink.

Three-year old teacher needed for pre-school. Experience preferred.

Wanted. Widower with school-age children requires person to assume general housekeeping duties. Must be capable of contributing to growth of family.

Tired of working for only $9.75 per hour? We offer profit sharing and flexible hours. Starting pay: $7 -- $9 per hour.

Joining nudist colony! Must sell washer and dryer $300.

Free Yorkshire Terrier: 8 years old. Hateful little dog.

Free puppies: ½ cocker spaniel, ½ sneaky neighbor’s dog.

German Shepherd, 85 lbs. Neutered. Speaks German. Free.

Snow Blower for sale…only used on snowy days.