Challenges and Changes!

Wow! There is a strange odor in the air! And it is NOT our fake snow. In fact, it is not so strange, just, fortunately, infrequent. Baby Girl has had the runs, to put it nicely, since last Wednesday...and Hunky joined the drama this weekend. It is still on-going...at least for him. She has conquered that end of things, but now is way off schedule with her sleeping habits. That would not be so bad in itself, but she desires to be held and the center of attention most of her waking moments. As one would assume, this makes homeschooling quite challenging! And with the bustle of the Holiday decorations, shopping, and already some visitors, all the children are in "challenge mode. Yeah! Just what I always wanted!

There are challenges in my husband's work as well. He sells on commission only, advertising specialties. Many of his customers are so tight, they cannot afford to buy any form of advertisement, and some are even going out of business. So, at a time of year, when he usually does very well, he is struggling at numbers he hasn't experienced in years. oh well. Life goes on. We will not starve. We will not lose our house over it. We will have a good, even great Christmas.

I was instructing the boys on the true meaning of Christmas. It has nothing to do with getting gifts. It has everything to do with giving, loving and sharing. I cannot imagine what it must have felt like for God the Father to send Jesus the Son down to earth in the form of a created human being. It seems to me that it would feel humiliating, except for His unconditional love. I like to make crafts and to write characters into stories. I cannot imagine how I would feel if I had to become one of those characters or, when of my own created objects. Wow! So, Christmas is about giving, not getting. There are many ways to give. I can give a smile, I can let someone go in front of me in a line, or cut in front in traffic. I can hold the door for an elderly shopper or carry a bag to their car. I can resist the urge to fight for the parking spot or last sale item. Think about it. These are all ways to give...not take. Simple isn't it? I wish I could do more than that. I wish I had money to give to Phoenix Children's Hospital and St. Jude's and other charities, but I don't. I wish I had the means to put a smile on the face of a poor child by lavishing them with lots of toys, but I don't.

So, I will have to smile, and pray and share whatever I can. Perhaps it is time to return to the old-fashioned Christmases which were much simpler. The ones where children did not have to have the latest fashion or electronic toy (or any toy for that matter) to feel good about themselves and feel as though they fit in with their peers. Where sharing homemade pies or knitted items or just good deeds was considered quite neighborly. And where you knew and could trust your neighbors.

Or perhaps it is time to go all the way back to Bethlehem and consider the sacrifice that was made for ALL humanity in a humble stable...full of love. Not competition, not gifts, not tinsel or ornaments or stuff...just love.

Perhaps.