Merriest of Merrys to You!

Merriest of Merrys to you!  My heart and mind are in about a million places right now.  Cooking.  Gifting.  Laughing.  Reflecting.

 

It’s funny how the end of the year is just a mere week away and how both it and Christmas bring about a resounding opportunity for reflection.

 

When we were in the beginning phases of decorating for Christmas this year, I came across a box of Christmas cards.  These were ones we had received in years past.  I don’t keep every single one we get but I enjoy looking through the saved one year, adding a few new cards to the pile.  As I browsed, I found one from December 2010.  It was the last Christmas card we would receive from Mama Dell before she passed away the following summer.  In one part she writes “May the new year in your new home be filled with blessings.”

The Christmas Card

  

And blessings it was…she wasn’t here to realize, but that first December without her would mark a significant time in our lives.  December 10, 2011 was the day we found out we were expecting our firstborn.  We were over the moon and shared the news with both sets of our parents around Christmas-time.  We were enamored with the baby, the pregnancy, the expectation. 

Our son, Parker, was born August 19, 2012.  I won’t share that story now except to say that Parker never came home with us; he was buried August 25, 2012.  

Parker's Place

The rest of 2012 was a struggle.  The family was kind of wrought up—Adam’s mom experienced a stroke, there were tensions among relatives, and our marriage had taken one in the gut.

 

We didn’t “celebrate” Christmas that year, not in the traditional sense.  Things were quiet.  Still, even.  We weren’t focused on finding the perfect gifts.  We didn’t even put up a tree.  We weren’t being the neighborhood Scrooge…we were just being. (That isn’t a typo-I meant to end the sentence there-we were, in fact, just being.)  I learned more that Christmas than the sum of all my other Christmases combined – I learned  about life and about loss…about eternity and sanctification…about blessings and sacrifices…about His sovereignty, grace, and mercy…about being still and knowing He is God.

Of course, the days on the calendar clicked on by and we eventually turned the page to 2013.  By Christmas 2013, we had a two-month old son, Sawyer.

Sawyer, "One Long Blink Away From Sleeping"
Christmas Eve, 12/24/13

 

And now, Christmas 2014, we are awaiting the arrival of our latest blessing, Addison.

Baby Gleaton #3
Due February 2015

 

Reflection.  As I reflect on the last four years since Mama Dell put pen to paper in that final Christmas card, I am readily reminded of the Lord’s hand of grace, providence, and sufficiency.  In that time, He has blessed us with three children: one in heaven, one on earth, and one in waiting.  We, no doubt, at times, resisted, struggled, and misunderstood His sovereignty.  Each time, He faithfully and gently brought us to the end of ourselves.  A place He precisely intended us to be.  A place where all believers are called to be – living on His sufficiency.  The Christian life is relying each moment on the grace of God to lead, enable, and sustain.  And now, Christmas – what a fittingly placed time of year to be reminded of such things.  To reflect on Christ’s birth, rejoice in our salvation, and give thanks for the blessings He has given.  May you find time this Christmas to reflect and be still.  Enjoy the moments, the life, the family, the food, the fellowship, and yes, the gifts…Merriest of Merrys to you!