Do You See What I See
Picture this. It’s a cold, December evening and the winds of Christmas are whistling in the Texas air…said no one ever. I’m pretty sure we had the AC and fan on,drinking ice cold lemonade from chic-fil-a and putting away the summer clothes in hopes I would need winter sweaters soon. Being a full-time working mom of two and the wife of a traveling husband, I was not in the mood for decorating seeing as how my house was a wreck from the chaotic week we had just had. I couldn’t imagine ADDING to the explosion my house looked like it had just barely survived. In all seriousness, I talked it over with my husband about not even decorating…THE NERVE! I was discussing my scrooge-like decision with a friend and without her knowing she was giving such wisdom, I realized I was looking at this holiday season with a terribly wrong perspective.
The memories I have of Christmas as a little girl are full of lights, trees (mom did 18 to be exact) and so manyjoyful moments. I couldn’t tell you if our house was a mess. I couldn’t describe to you the condition of each room, but I can tell you precisely the feel of Christmas in every room. I’ll get back to that in just a moment…
You wanna know what her words of great wisdom were, don’t you? Of course you do. I have lured you into my thickening plot! Drama, I know, I know. So her advicewent something like this, “My kids won’t remember the condition of my house, but they will grow up remembering our Christmas traditions.”
I can’t look back, talk about, aspire or dream about Christmases past without one word coming to mind…JOY.Jesus endured the cross by the JOY that was set before Him. In the midst of the hardest trial man could face, he found joy and that joy was you.
So what did I do? My 3 year old, Eiley, came to me and sweetly asked, “Mommy, when can I have a Christmas tree?” There was my joy. I knew that no matter what I wanted or didn’t want to do, or what seemingly was the hardest task to undertake, I couldn’t think of anything else I’d rather do than create memories for my family-the joy that is set before me. Whether you are single, married, a parent, working or not, the challenge to find Joy in everything will always be there. It’s up to you what you choose to see. Do all you can to see the JOY everywhere this holiday season.
Merry Christmas! -Aubrey
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