Being Scrooged!

Scrooge, the Apostle Paul, and I have something in common: we have learned a little about transformation and about what happens when God gives us a new day. Here's to you being Scrooged, too!

(I planned to write twice a week for Advent, but as often happens, God needed to teach me something first so I could share it with you. For lack of a better way to say this, I was scrooged this past week. Here’s my story.)

I have never liked Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” or any iteration of it.

And yet, I actually know quite a bit about the story and that which went into Dickens writing it.

Here’s a fun fact, for example: In Dickens’ earlier drafts of the story, Scrooge wasn’t so grumpy and had a happy childhood! But to make Scrooge’s transformation more powerful, Dickens darkened his upbringing.

And did you know that “A Christmas Carol” was inspired by Dickens’ own life? In fact, he wrote it in 1843 when he was facing personal and financial struggles. Writing the novella in just six weeks (!!), it reflected the influence his family’s poverty had on him and his commitment to speaking out on poverty and inequality during the Industrial Revolution.

You see, “The Christmas Carol” isn’t just about the unique cast of characters found in the likes of Kermit the Frog, Gonzo, and Fozzie Bear!

Back to my dislike of the story.

Scrooge is crabby and the ghosts just scare me. I hate being crabby and I hate being scared even more.

In fact, my rejection of Scrooge and the ghosts might be summed up in this picture of me and my son standing at the “Scrooge & Marley” station in downtown St. Charles, Missouri, this past Saturday — seven days ago.

As you can see, my smile is an utter rejection of the grumpiness Scrooge embodies!

The Last Seven Days

Unbeknownst to me, however, I was being Scrooged even in this picture! Here’s the story of my week:

• Laurie and family head to St. Charles, MO, for a weekend of Christmas lights, shopping, parades, and caroling.

• Saturday morning (6AM): Laurie wakes up excited for the day ahead.

• Saturday morning (9AM): Laurie loses a contact lens in her eye and, determined to continue, puts in another contact despite the pain.

• Saturday evening (4PM): Laurie’s eye hurts, so she visits urgent care, where the doctor assures her there’s no lens in her eye.

• Saturday evening (6PM): Believing the doctor, Laurie tries her contacts again and heads out for more fun.

• Sunday morning (6AM): Laurie’s eye is still painful.

• Sunday-Thursday: Laurie cares for her eye, thinking it’s just scratched.

• Thursday morning: Panicked that she’s losing her sight, Laurie visits her eye doctor.

• Thursday afternoon: Laurie’s eye doctor tells her that there is indeed a contact lens in her eye and takes it out. Laurie’s vision is restored!

Here’s what else you need to know: I have cornea keratoconus, an eye condition that makes it impossible for me to see clearly without contact lenses.

I spent the last six days without any measurably good eyesight and I went to the eye doctor assuming that my eye was likely going to be damaged either due to scratching or scarring.

And then the doctor told me the unthinkable — that it was simply a lost contact lens and that my eye was just fine. And I almost cried.

And this morning — this very morning — I woke up and put my contacts in, and I felt like Scrooge likely felt on that crisp Christmas morning!

Valiently and victoriously throwing open the windows, Scrooge yelled to a young lad below, “Boy, what day is it?” Responding cheerfully, the boy explained, “Why, it’s Christmas Day, sir!”

This morning, I felt like Scrooge.

I could see clearly, with no pain.

God had done something I hadn’t even thought possible. What I was convinced would be a long-term deficit had become removable and redeemable.

Me, Scrooge, and the Apostle Paul

To put this into a (hopefully non-hertical) biblical context, I think me, Scrooge, and the Apostle Paul have something in common: We were blind, and then we could see.

None of us could have known that transformation and healing was around the corner.

You may remember the Apostle Paul’s story. Before becoming an apostle, Paul is named Saul and Saul is a persecutor of Christians and deeply opposed to the message of Jesus. Saul, however, has a dramatic encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, and his life is completely transformed.

God renames him Paul and he becomes a passionate advocate for the gospel, dedicating his life to spreading Christ’s teachings and working to reconcile others to God. (See Acts 9 and following.)

Both he and Scrooge undergo a complete shift in their beliefs and actions, moving from hostility to generosity and faith.

The title of this blog post — “Being Scrooged!” — is meant to be a powerful reminder to all of us that we never know what’s around the corner. When we least expect it, we never know what God may do. We might be crabby and scared and miserly and wretched and alone.

And then, one day, we may no longer be these things.

Let me tell you one more fun fact about “A Christmas Carol.” It helped revive Christmas traditions, which had been waning in popularity in Victorian England. The through-lines of generosity, family, and goodwill are even thought to influence how Christmas is celebrated today.

Yes, this week I learned that crabbiness and fear don’t have the final word. I learned that Scrooge isn’t about these things at all. Scrooge is about transformation and new life and hope when it seems dark and lonely.

I hope that you, too would be Scrooged this Advent season — that where you are blind, you will now see everything beautiful and lovely that you may have been missing.

❤️ Quotes to Remember & A Prayer for Your Life

And here are a few quotes that may inspire you as you think about transformation, too:

“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world!” – Ebenezer Scrooge (after his transformation)

“Blindness is an unfortunate handicap, but true vision does not require the eyes.” – Helen Keller

“In the beginning, God said ‘Let there be light’... He opened our eyes to see, and then He opened our hearts to believe.” – Anonymous

My prayer for you is that this Advent you would believe that God really does do impossible things. My prayer is that you would be Scrooged in the best way possible, and that whatever scary and sad and grumpy thing that weighs you down would be removed and cast as far as the east is from the west.

And my prayer for you, dear friend, is that you would fling open that window that separates your dark world and let the light of a new Christmas morning flood into every part of your being.

💚 Much love,

Laurie