There is an old saying that to make God laugh we have only to tell him our plans.\u00a0 I keep forgetting that old thing and declaring what I will and will not do.\u00a0 How He must chuckle in His amusement.<\/p>\n
My heart has ached at the thought of our last Christmas with family.\u00a0 I have mourned it, wrung my hands, shed a few tears, and then resolved to soak up every last moment with our loved ones close at hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cMove on.\u201d God whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d I replied. \u201cI love my life here and I don\u2019t want it to end. Let me linger a while longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet it go.\u201d He told me gently.<\/p>\n
I shook my head and looked back over my shoulder at all that lay behind.\u00a0 \u201cI can not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI promise that it will be okay.\u00a0 Walk away.\u201d He counseled.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease don\u2019t make me.\u201d I begged.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust me. Leave it all.\u201d\u00a0 My Lord implored.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how.\u201d\u00a0 I cried.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me help you.\u201d He offered and I did.<\/p>\n
********************************************************** <\/p>\n
On Sunday night,\u00a0 the kids and I were hit with a stomach virus.\u00a0 Violent yet swift-moving illness swept through our household.\u00a0 My husband left town for a business trip and I washed laundry, mopped floors and scrubbed the house.\u00a0 When they began to recover on Tuesday, I began to hope that they would be recovered enough for us to join family on Christmas Eve.\u00a0 The hope began to glimmer inside of me. \u201cPlease, oh please let them be well enough.\u201d I silently begged.<\/p>\n
No sooner had I begun to hope than the flu arrived in full force.\u00a0 Wednesday morning I looked at the sick children lying on the couch in blanket covered lumps and I knew it was over.\u00a0 It would be just us for Christmas.<\/p>\n
I mopped their brows, passed out medicine and began to pack the kitchen.\u00a0 A quiet voice inside me told me it was time and at last I listened.\u00a0 As my babies napped, I packed my way through the kitchen and the master bath.\u00a0 Thursday came and I moved on to the living and dining rooms.\u00a0 Pack, sort, clean, paint, stage.<\/p>\n
Thursday afternoon and into Friday relatives began dropping gifts on our porch, ringing the bell and leaving.\u00a0 We have the plague and they want no part of it. A precursor of next year when presents will arrive via the mailman, who, like our family, will leave our packages on the porch and walk away.<\/p>\n
Today I asked the children what they wanted for Christmas dinner.\u00a0 I have the turkey defrosting already.\u00a0 They can pick the side dishes.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t Thanksgiving, I reminded them, there are no traditional dishes.\u00a0 They looked at me as if a crazy woman were standing before them.\u00a0 Silence.<\/p>\n
At last the 11 year old said, \u201cCan we have yellow potatoes?\u00a0 The cheese kind from the box?\u201d\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 I asked.\u00a0 He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d I told him.<\/p>\n
His siblings were surprised at my agreement and one by one they ventured a hopeful suggestion\u2026French fries? Cauliflower? Home-made egg noodles?\u00a0 Salad with ranch dressing.<\/p>\n
As I nodded my assent to each one, they became bolder and a little wilder with their requests.\u00a0 I finally limited them to 2 choices a piece.\u00a0 They were thrilled and I saw a new tradition began to take hold.\u00a0 A tradition we can carry with us.\u00a0 The do-it-ourselves Christmas menu\u2026.and we continue to step forward one little bit at a time.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There is an old saying that to make God laugh we have only to tell him our plans.\u00a0 I keep forgetting that old thing and declaring what I will and will not do.\u00a0 How He must chuckle in His amusement. My heart has ached at the thought of our last Christmas with family.\u00a0 I have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1979,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n