NO-List Christmas

God did it.

I didn't do it. He did.

I made it through the whole month of December without my lists.

When I last blogged, I wrote about how overwhelmed I was with everything that was going on and had to be done. I shared how I was concerned that I would miss or forget something important. I was struggling with letting Satan steal away my joy and missing the true meaning of Christmas. When I last blogged I had begun multiple lists.

At first it was unintentional on my part. I didn't set out to test God or anything like that. I just committed to taking each day as God gave it to me and to give it back to Him. In the following days I realized that instead of helping me, my lists were actually hindering me. They were contributing the stress I was trying to use them to relieve. They were my feeble attempt of having some kind of control over my crazy life.

At that point I never looked again at the lists I began. I didn't even write my weekly to-do or grocery lists. Yet, everything got done. Nothing was forgotten. AND, I had the best advent season I can remember.

My kids still got sick. The weather was unpredictable. We were still crazy busy BUT He was so faithful.

Out of nowhere, "I" remembered Riley needed new leggings for the school Christmas program. "Toys-R-Us" got the toy in stock that Piper had asked Santa for. I just "happened" to bring chips and salsa to a potluck that I didn't know was a potluck. These might just be happy coincidences for some, but I know they are all just three examples of His grace to me this December.

I tried to explain this to my husband. I tried to get him to understand that to go without my lists was an act of faith - that I was trusting God to be in control and to just live the life He had given me that day without worrying about the next.  He was so good to be so involved in the minor details of my little life.

God taught me so much about humility this Advent season and a lot of it was through my NO-List Christmas.