The Spirit of Christmas

It's the Christmas Season, Everyone! What does this mean to you? There are so many possibilities for the true meaning of Christmas...the Spirit in which to celebrate.

Mark has care packages to get out, filled with Christmas cookies and goodies. Maggie has a party at school, for which I'm in charge...cupcakes? Check. Juice boxes? Check. Game? Check. Gift? Check.

We've put up our tree, decorated our home, wrapped a few gifts. The weather is brisk, the radio is playing carols, and, every night, we eat our supper in front of the television while watching a children's Christmas show. The Family Christmas Poem is completed and I've almost finished addressing all the Christmas Cards. This is what Christmas is about, right?

I've been especially enjoying church lately. The singing seems to be more robust and the sermons pack more of a punch. It's just that time of the year. Believing and being faithful are on everyone's list. This is the true meaning of Christmas, surely!

I've made sure our family is wearing red sweaters or green hair-bows. We've donned our Santa socks and made hot cocoa. The children have all written their letters to Santa and Mark has dutifully "mailed" them. We read the children a Christmas book each night and quote to them Moore's "Night Before Christmas". We are truly emanating the Spirit of Christmas.

Or so I thought...

There were a few more things that needed to be done...I had to buy some more gifts and yesterday evening seemed the perfect time to do it. Mom graciously offered to keep the kids while I dashed around town. I turned up the radio and "fa la la'd" with some crooner I don't even know. Boy, I was good at Christmas.

After checking my list (twice), I checked out of Wal-Mart and was patting myself on the back for having managed my time so wisely. I got a fair amount of the shopping done and would have just enough time to get home and cook a wonderful meal for my family before Mark got home from work. Yay for me!

As I was walking out of the store, I decided I'd better sit down and check the receipt...sometimes, there are errors and I didn't want to get all the way home before making that discovery. There's that breezy area at the entrance/exit with benches and I chose one next to a nice-looking elderly lady. After checking that my receipt was sadly accurate, I looked up and said hello to the lady. She smiled and said hello in return. She commented on my prudence in checking the receipt and I admitted that I'd only just started this practice after having been jipped so many times in the past.

I asked if she was cold sitting so near the doors and she said she was fine; she was just waiting for her son and daughter-in-law who had a lot of shopping to do. She couldn't be on her feet for too long so she just sat and waited for them. I got up and wished her a Merry Christmas and told her I hoped her son and daughter-in-law didn't take too long...and she thanked me...and there was a look in her eye. I couldn't leave her. I couldn't leave this woman to just sit all alone and wait.

I sat back down. She asked if I'd forgotten something. I said, "No, Ma'am. It's just not often that I meet someone so nice. Would it be alright if I sat here with you for awhile?" Her smile was so bright. She thanked me and began talking. I learned all about her family and her past. I learned about her wisdom and her experiences. She was a sharp woman of 84 years and admitted that her physical health was in decline, but she's loved and happy and well cared for. After 45 minutes, her son and daughter-in-law came to get her. I stood and said, "Oh, I suppose I need to get supper started. Thank you for humoring me. It's not often I get a chance to sit at Wisdom's feet." She had tears in her eyes and smiled up at me. She took my hand and whispered, "Thank you, Child. It's not often there is someone willing to sit with me at all. Have a Merry Christmas."

As I left Wal-Mart, behind schedule and tired, I knew. I knew that, although the Christmas Cards were addressed, the gifts were bought, the carols were being sung, and the children were watching "Rudolph"...I knew that only just then had I experienced The Spirit of Christmas.

I challenge you to find your experience as well. They are out there...right in front of you. And they are rewarding beyond belief.

Merry Christmas, Everyone. And, I mean that.

The Afterlife

When I was in High School, there were quite a few "kids" who made life miserable for me. They would make fun of my clothes for not being the latest trends...my hair was always too long or too frizzy or too something...I had big lips (NOT in style when I was in school) so I was given endless grief and many non-repeatable nicknames...I was told often how ugly and stupid I was...I was considered too nerdy even for some of the nerds! The only thing that got me through (well, not the only thing...but a very strong motivator) was the knowledge that my life did not end at graduation. I focused on my life ahead...I wanted to be an awesome wife and mom...I wanted to become a writer and maybe one day teach other women. I had to put away any hopes of being liked in High School because that was never going to happen and, instead, set my sites on what my life would become later.
Here I am...later. I am a wife...I am a mom...I am a writer...I am a teacher. I am living the dream! So, why is it that I still listen to the voice of that High School girl inside of me? My husband tells me I'm beautiful and I instantly remember that first day of 10th Grade when a certain popular boy walked into Geometry and sat down next to me...he looked at me, realizing where he'd sat, gave my face a good going over, got up, and moved to another seat. I tell myself, "you're not beautiful!"
My kids tell me I'm so much fun to play with and I instantly remember that day in Athletics when all the girls in the lockerroom told me how I moved like a chicken having seizures and I'd never amount to anything, physically speaking. I tell myself, "you're no fun!"
I have one item published and another on its way to the publisher's as we speak and I instantly think of the laughter I received from always writing things so "stupid" in school. I tell myself, "no one will read this."
I have taught the ladies classes at church for years with more joy than I can put into words... and here is where it starts turning around. For me, the teacher will always learn more than her students. I teach these ladies from God's Word...the Word that says to never live in the past... to forgive...to love...to know that God is God. I am not beautiful, fun, smart, or instructive...without God. With Him, I am everything I've ever imagined and more. There is life after High School... but only when I live it!!!

Open the Present

Since the last post, my life has changed dramatically. Daddy has died; Rinette has died; Marvin has died. It's been the proverbial anvil dropping on our heads over and over. But you know what? I'm still here. I'm still waking up in the morning. I'm still washing clothes and cooking meals for my family. I'm still kissing boo-boos and spanking bottoms. I'm still making beds and sweeping floors. I'm still reading bedtime stories and tucking in sweet children. I'm still doing everything the day demands of me....I'm just doing it with more perspective than ever before. Everything matters now....much more than it did before. Each second of each day is a gift. I heard it said once that the present is just that...a present...we unwrap today as the gift that it is and we are grateful for everything it gives us.
I am determined to consider it pure joy. It's not really very hard most of the time.

Marching On

This post is just ramblings. I have no pretty thoughts to share or wise sayings to pass along. I am just sitting at my dining room table at 7:46 in the morning, drinking my Spark, and waiting to get motivated to do the daily housework.

Today's Friday. Friday means Maggie's school library book is due back. It means I will keep Cameron from 12:30 to 3:30. It means I will wash all our light clothes and clean the kids' bedrooms. It usually means we have pizza for supper and watch something silly on T.V. (seen the latest Backyardigans? Robin Hood the Clean...). However, we had pizza last night (Kashi...very healthy!) so we'll have spaghetti tonight.

Phoenix is sick. He's been running a fever since Wednesday night. We made him a pallet on our floor last night so I could hear him breathing all night long. Believe me, I count their breaths when they're sick.

Maggie is getting so big. She comes in from school in the afternoons and has chores that actually help me out these days. No more of those baby chores (help Mommy open the door...help Mommy pick up these blocks...help Mommy put your pillows on your bed). Now, she unloads the days' last load of laundry from the drier, folds them, and puts them away. Then, she straightens and vacuums the living room. After dinner, she scrapes the plates and then wipes down the table and chairs. She's a true helper to me. And I pray that I'm rewarding her enough.

We have a gold star system. The children have activities to achieve and rewards to work toward. Maggie's three activities at the moment are Picking up her Toys, Helping Around the House, and Eating her Dinner with a Smile. She's doing a marvelous job (except for the other night when we had beans as part of dinner). Phoenix's two activities are Being a Good Listener and Going to the Potty. He's a champ and is ECSTATIC with each gold star earned. Luke's one activity is to Go to Bed on Time...AND STAY IN BED!!!! He's pretty good about it. :)

When Luke reaches 6 stars, he will get a small prize (to be determined), when Phoenix reaches 8 stars, he gets an extra story at bedtime, and when Maggie gets 12 stars, she will get a special treat (like ice cream or a cupcake). They are working like the wind to earn those prizes...and in the meantime, our house is a much smoother-run household.

Well, I've rambled enough. Love to hear from everyone. Thanks for reading.

Month of Love

February. Ah...the month of love. The much-anticipated month for those freshly dating...planning Valentine picnics and surprise flowers...giving chocolates and kisses to those for whom our hearts go pitter-patter. The month during which stores hang pink, red, purple hearts and offer plush wonders that must mean romance. February.
This February was definitely about love for our family. On January 7th, I had a hysterectomy. It was the old-fashioned kind ending with 14 staples in my abdomen and a 6 to 8 week recovery (and for those of you doing the math, I'm on week 7 today). The love shown to me during this time was overwhelming...it was the love of Christ. My church family made sure we had a warm (and often home cooked) meal on our doorstep every single night...sometimes we had two meals show up simply because, although someone hadn't signed up to bring us something, they'd been thinking of us that day and wanted to show they cared. In addition to this, my mother came to stay with us for a few weeks. She was amazing. She is the kind of person who can serve you in every way you need without having to be asked and without you even knowing she's done it!
Mom planned to stay with me the full six weeks to help out with our children and the housework...but Dad got sick. Dad just hadn't been feeling well and finally went to the doctor. They thought he had a pinched nerve in his back (sciatic nerve - ouch!) so he had an MRI. The MRI showed cancer. Mom went right home. The love she showed me was a totally different kind of love than what she has for my father. She married him at the age of 17 and feels just as bound to him today as she did then.
The cancer turned out to be small cell lung cancer...the very scary kind that travels fast and is not easy to fight. It is in his lungs, of course, but also his liver, his bones, and in his brain. The love I feel for my father...for my mother...for my brothers and sister has come crashing into reality for me this month. And the example of love between my parents is beyond anything that could come wrapped in a heart-shaped package.
Love is patient. It waits for God's will instead of medical test results. Love is kind. It soothes where there is hurt and pays no attention to awkwardness during illness. Love does not envy. It doesn't look around at all the healthy people and think that life is unfair. Love does not boast. Even though it knows the best way and has eternal peace, there is no boasting. Love is not proud. For what happens to us could happen to anyone and the wisdom given to us is also shared amongst others. Love is not rude. Even when exhausted and at the end of one's rope, there is no rudeness. Love is not self-seeking. When one close to us lays hurting, it is not for us that we pray, but for their peace. Love is not easily angered. There are too many things to count pure joy to let anger enter love's being. Love keeps no record of wrongs. At the end of the day, wrongs are not what matters. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth...and what other truth is there than God!? Love ALWAYS protects, ALWAYS trusts, ALWAYS hopes, ALWAYS perseveres. It matters not what Satan throws in our way. Love NEVER fails!
My mother loves my father. This is the best Valentine's I've ever experienced.
I pray that all of you know such love.