2nd Day of Christmas

ON THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS, my true love gave to me two turtle doves. Again, birds are a bad choice for any lover wanted to woo his love into their arms. However, the second day of Christmas offers an interesting animal anomaly- a turtle with a dove? How did that work out? Those are two creatures you don't normally see with one another. A turtle is slow. A bird is fast. A turtle is boring. A dove is schizophrenic. Why would anyone want to intermix those two? They are an odd couple.


It is said that the symbolic meaning of two turtle doves refers to the Old and New Testaments in the Bible. If that is what it means, then they have some very unique personalities. Why? Because the God of the Old Testatment was different than the New Testament God. The change was that he sent his only son to die so that we might have a direct line to God, not a sacrificial one.

As for the birds, they are both turtle doves, but they are different. My point is they are a pair that make up one. They are a couple that despite being odd and despite being far from each other in a lot of ways works out. Turtles and doves. Old and New. Peanut Butter and chocolate. Thing one and thing two. They complement each other. They work out to form one being, one entity. The two animals become a turtledove. Old and new- a Bible. Peanut Butter and chocolate- Reese's. Thing one, thing two- Dr. Seuss. Granted, they are an odd couple no matter how you look at it, but they are 1 gift, not two separate ones.


Relationships are like that. Opposites attract. Possibly, the second day is just that. It is about two radically different things working out. They meld together to create something that is one, but two. They aren't always perfect, in fact they never are. Husband and wives sometimes fight. Best friends can get on each other's nerves. Turtles and doves are nothing alike, but they meld together. But in the end, it all comes back to relationships. We are called to unite. To bind. To be two in one. Many people like to cut relationships off when things get bumpy. They don't like handling the pressure. But the second day is calling us to change that. It is calling us to accept our differences and get along. So here's to the second day- relationships.


And yes, I know that a turtledove has nothing to do with an actual turtle.


KB