Christmastime is swiftly approaching, I noticed. Has anyone (other than a child) ever seen it
CHRISTMASTIME IS swiftly approaching, I noticed. Has anyone (other than a child) ever seen it come another way? As I was trimming the tree the other day I came across a storage bin with many “old” ornaments. Since almost all of them have a date painted or engraved, I connected these tiny pieces of the past to what I was doing at that moment.
In a flash, Christmases from my childhood flooded my mind. Those times were always fun. No Scrooges in my family, they celebrated the season well, decorated with love, laughter, and lots of feasts. And I was blessed to enjoy many years of that. We grow older and parents and grandparents eventually pass. But during those same years, we marry, have our own children, and begin to create our unique memories. So we hold onto the past fondly and continue to create new memories—which will one day be old memories for the next generation. It’s an interesting way of gift-giving, yes?
It occurred to me that not all of my adult Christmases were merry and bright. Some brought trips to the hospital because a child had defeated the lock on the drawer and swallowed an undetermined about of fluoride. Sometimes there was sickness. More than once there were job losses JUST before the holiday—no money and benefits. Who can find a job on Christmas Day? And one Christmas, I was still reeling from the death of my first grandchild. I found all these trinkets (and more) the deeper I dug into the bin. I recalled dreams and goals that I now laugh about, but at the time, were disastrous. Then, I thought God was punishing me or that I had arrived at end of a long good luck streak, and the law of averages was knocking at the door to serve a grim warrant for my arrest.
But remembering those old disappointments, fears, despair, and pain, I began to smile at where I am right now. Who I became. The bad times passed. And with them the mist that surrounded them lifted, revealing what was actually happening. In my adult life, some of the worst times set me up for some wonderful times and things. I could never have imagined what was coming. And I never could have had these things I am so grateful for without the struggles. Some decisions I made, the ones that caused embarrassment and panic were turned into times of celebration. I know in my deepest heart it wasn’t me who made good things happen. It was my best faithful forever friend.
I'm different now in mind and heart. I truly worry about nothing. I turn the worrisome stuff over to my friend who specializes in fixing them in the sweetest ways. He told me (and by the way all of us) to be thankful for all things. Bad things are still things and definitely part of all things.
If this Christmas you give them your heart and the very next day they tear it apart, give thanks! It could be the best gift they never gave you. If you don’t get that hippopotamus you asked for—yep—definitely give thanks. If ‘Santa Baby’ doesn’t come through with a ring, well, you’re catching on.
But on a more serious note, I know there are people who are wondering this 2020 season what is going to happen to their child, their spouse, their marriage, their lives if COVID 19 doesn’t go away, an aging parent, a friend in the ICU—the list of the tough things goes on. My Christmas gift to you is my prayer that you will again taste the sweetness of God’s power in your life and that one day you will laugh wildly that 2020, which you thought was so horrible, turned out to be the most wonderful gift of your life! For, with God ALL THINGS are possible!
©️ 2020 MyPericope.com
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