Monday, December 26, 2016

Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow

Tis the day after Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring except for me…and I ain’t no mouse!

Funny how even when I CAN sleep in, I CAN’T sleep in!!  Anyone else have this malady?

Today I love that I got up while it was still dark with my hubby snoring away.  I love that I could plug in our beautiful lights and sit at the Lord’s feet for a while pondering His faithfulness and His mercies and His love.

Today I love that our house is quiet.

 
Today I love that even though I’m normally so very ready to pack up the decorations for another year and get this house back to ‘normal’….I won’t because our son and family will come for a few days….so Christmas is NOT over for the James gang!

Today I normally would be getting out the empty bins and boxes from the garage, purposefully wrapping and packing each item, labeling the box or bin, and finding someone help me put it all back in to the attic.

Not today.  Today I’m going to enjoy the calm before the storm.  Today I’m going to relish time with my hubby.  Today I’m going to get ready for more kids and grand kids to come for a few days.

Just when I thought Christmas was over….it’s not!  There’s more!

Yesterday, Christmas day was precious!  Could sleep later than a normal Sunday because we had no bible study/Sunday school…..just worship at 10:30.  No prep for me to go over.  No stress over teaching ladies.  I was super excited to sleep late but did I?  No!  I was up at 5:00 am!!!  Do you know how frustrating that is??  I could sleep past 8 and I’m up at 5:00 am!!??

Anyway…back to the point….yesterday was precious….worshipping with our family of God on Christmas Day!!  So fun!! 

(Side note:  did your church have church Christmas day??  Christmas falls on a Sunday every 7 years or so….and it has for as long as we have been in ministry—over 40 years now—so that’s a lot of Christmases on Sunday….and I had no idea….until this year, that is, that many churches did not have worship…perhaps this is a discussion we should have at a later time….but I found myself being critical over churches/pastors not having church on Christmas!!  Here I was, being all self-righteousness and all spiritual all because we have always had church when it fell on Sunday….and yet I certainly was NOT being spiritual but rather quite sinful as I was being critical!!  Oh my…)

Back to yesterday…..after worshipping Jesus with the Body…..we went to our daughter’s house to celebrate His birthday with her family.  We got there about 1:00ish and their three kids were waiting with noses pressed to the window waiting for us to arrive so that they could open their gifts!!  They had some flu going around their family so did not go to church and those kids had waited all morning and not opened any gifts!  Talk about torture!

Yesterday was sweet….laughter, oohhs and ahhhhs, food and music and rich blessings abounded.

Yesterday was sweet as hubby and I came home exhausted and full and the two of us opened our gifts to one another.  It was reminiscent of our first few years together before we had children.  Just us opening our gifts.  Sweet.


Yesterday was a blessing.

Tomorrow chaos arrives for a few days.  There will be lots of noise and playing and messes and more gifts and more food. 

Tomorrow and the next several tomorrows we will have family here….and we will love it.

Our lives consist of yesterdays, today's and maybe tomorrows.  Christmases past, Christmases present and maybe Christmases future.

The truth is…Christmas is not over.  But you know this.  You know it is new every day.  You know Christ has come.  Christ is here.  Christ will come again.  But often we forget...we box up the beauty and memories and love and fun and put it all away in the attics of our minds.  Keep it all out.  Keep it out for those days when the darkness seems overwhelming and the depression sucks us in.  Keep out the joy.  The light.

As you pack up your decorations and lights ponder how you can hold on to the beauty and memories and power it all represents for another day.  And for another day after that.  And another day. 

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