It's a New Start...
Hello Friends and Happy New Year,
I am hoping that each of you were touched in some way this Christmas by the miracle of Christ. That was my prayer for you.
Admittedly though, I lost a little of my zest for the season somewhere between standing in line at Wal-Mart, and wrapping a Nerf basketball hoop for my son. I mean, has there ever been anything to try a mom’s patience more, than a gift that can be instantly identified through the wrapping paper? You see, our house is riddled with package shakers and feelers who can’t stand surprises and sneak a quick peek every time my back is turned. And despite the information I’ve fed my children—this mom does not have eyes in the back of her head.
The dialogue went a little like this:
“No Josh, that’s not a hoop, that’s a round picture frame for dad. No that’s not a bow and arrow, that’s a mop and broom set for me (I know not a very creative cover-up, but this mom was desperate!) Socks? Now honey, those aren’t socks (even though we all know you need them). No, those are a set of dish towels for a friend. And what makes you think that’s a can of peanuts? Even though it looks like a nut and sounds like a nut— that doesn’t mean it’s a nut!” Hurrumph.
So with lies mounting and guilt thick as eggnog, I carted my nutty self upstairs to rewrap any detectable, guessable, and shakable present. As sure as the snow flies in Ohio, there were going to be some surprises. Admittedly, my husband did give me an odd glance Christmas morning when he tore into his container of peanuts, most admirably disguised in a shoe box…filled with nothing less than a mountain of packing peanuts… then wrapped double to muffle sound. I just smiled and told him I’d explain later. And the rattlers that I mentioned last month? Well, they squeezed snuggly into a toilet paper roll. No one was the wiser.
But do you want the truth given to you without all the peanut-packing and pretty bows on top? If there were any surprises on Christmas morning, I missed them. Sadly, you can miss a lot when your half asleep. You see, I squandered sooo much of my energy on things like wrapping paper—that just gets scrunched up and set at the end of the driveway in a trash bag— that by Christmas I was weary of it all. Leaving little for the Lord. Now one would think, after all these years, I would learn to pace myself.
But as I’ve reflected on Christmas, and look forward to a new year, I realize that it is all about pacing. And God wants me to do just that.
Like a runner who trains for a marathon, I want to plan my calendar by seeking His will for my life. I want to prepare by devouring His word. And I want to pace myself with the beat of His heart.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV).
Happy New Year and God Bless,
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