That's not to say that this year didn't have its natural highs and lows. We did a lot this year and this last month has been especially full.
The Story came and went and while it's always physically exhausting it is also a huge blessing to be involved in sharing the gospel in that way. I love being a part of the show every year and getting to serve with all the people in The Story family. I've met so many people through the ministry that have become amazing friends.
Two days after The Story ended we packed up and headed off to Disneyland for Christmas. We always have a magical time on our Disney trips although this year we were fighting the cooler temps and chilly winds. Walking around Disneyland with frozen toes is not fun and my body does not warm up on its own. It was painful. And I will be totally honest here, I become a little grumpy when I am cold. Yes, I am aware that I live in California and we don't deal with seriously cold weather like half the country...and THAT would be why I don't live there!
We may have been unprepared for the cold but we still had a great time together as a family. I know that we are very blessed for the time that we had together. As a mom, I want my kids to enjoy the holidays, look forward to traditions, feel the warmth in our home and feel loved. We may not have over the top Christmas decorations, thousands of dollars worth of presents under the tree or have the "perfect" social-media-worthy Christmas photos. And I'm okay with that. That's not real life. The love that they feel is what makes the holidays seem magical. That IS real life.
I realize that Christmas can be a hard time for many people. It's not always joyful. Quite often it's filled with pain, sorrow, loneliness and heartache. Depression is a real thing and it frequently surrounds the holidays. Whenever I think of the pain surrounding Christmas I can't help but think about Christ and His birth. There was no pain involved in His arrival (although I'd venture to say that Mary would have a different opinion) but when you realize that His birth would lead to His God-planned death for the sins of the world, you can't ignore the pain that was to come.
But with His pain came HOPE. He came for us. He came to love us. He came to redeem us. Not because He saw that we were worthy. He came because He knew He would conquer death and that His grace would be greater than all our sin. That is where the hope comes in - there is amazing freedom in knowing that our sins have been washed away. So no matter what we are going through - He is there. He is God with us. Shannan Martin wrote about Emmanuel so much better.
Happy New Year to all of you. I pray that the new year brings you happiness. We are spending the last few days of 2016 enjoying slow days at home, family and friends before 2017 arrives with its promise of new beginnings.
I leave you with some of my favorite photos of Ashlyn, Landon and Olivia and a little golden hour sunshine on Thanksgiving day...
No comments:
Post a Comment