Dear Friends,
This week, the Sandy Springs City Council met to discuss the once-rare but now more frequent sightings of coyotes in this area. Representatives from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources were present to explain coyote behavior and safety precautions.
Coyotes aren’t a new addition to the metro Atlanta suburbs, but they do seem out of place for this area. Where did they come from? Why are they making their way into the ATL versus the MTNs? I imagine easy food is one lure.
Whatever the reason, the notion of rare sightings is thrilling for me perhaps because it suggests an opportunity to glimpse into mystery. Rare sightings stir up my imagination. They remind me that I live in an enormous world where the unknown and unfamiliar are everywhere and that I may have a chance encounter with these where I least expect it.
While I have yet to see a coyote on my morning commute into Sandy Springs, I did have my own rare sighting this week. While stopped at a red light, I glanced at the car next to mine and noticed a man looking at himself in the rear view mirror, adjusting an enormous elf cap on his head. It appeared to be made of red and green felt, and the pointed ends were fastened with gold jingle bells, which drooped heavily on either side of his head.
He looked to his right and noticed that I was looking at him through my window. A sheepish grin spread across his face. With both of us caught momentarily in an intimate exchange of seeing something in the other – his self-consciousness and my curiosity – I did the only thing I could think to do before the light turned green. I gave him a thumbs-up.
This time of year, the ancient Christian story reminds us that a rare sighting occurred in the city of Bethlehem. Three magi dressed in Persian capes and soft drooping Phrygian caps, bearing gifts of incense, followed an unusually bright star to discover an ordinary barn, an infant surrounded by an intimate gathering of parents and animals . . . and the birth of hope and peace.
A rare sighting indeed . . . and one that has stirred the imaginations and opened the hearts of countless men, women and children ever since.
May you find your own encounter with mystery and intimacy this holiday season.
Warmly,
Terry
Rev. Terry Davis