Our
Wonder-Filled Plans for Christmas
It happens every year. And I know
that I’m not the only one who does it. On November 1st Thanksgiving plans are well underway.
We don’t want to miss a beat in having Thanksgiving dinner as perfect as can
be. I love Thanksgiving− taking time to be grateful to God for His many
blessings, family gathering together, turkey dinner with the trimmings, college
football on TV, and on and on.
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| Photo by Connie Wohlford |
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| From pinterest |
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BUT, you know and I
know that there’s a buzzing bee humming wildly inside our heads, planning and
anticipating, thinking and budgeting—for the best Christmas ever. After all,
it’s just around the corner!
Our minds are bursting with wonder-filled plans:
Things like family gatherings where we all get along; we’re all on the
same page; and no one−not even one−acts unseemly. And most importantly, we all
focus on Jesus and the wonder of His coming. We gaze at the nativity figurines
and imagine what it would be like to be in that scene ourselves. We picture
ourselves kneeling beside the Christ Child, worshiping alongside the shepherds
and wise men−maybe even holding a baby lamb on our laps. We see our children
and grandchildren joining us there−captivated by the wonder of it all.
When God looks into our brains, it must look something like Pinterest or the merger of Southern Living Christmas and Focus on the Family.
Our minds are bursting with
wonder-filled plans: Our culinary creations will top all we’ve
ever done in Christmas past. It will
seem as though we’ve cloned Martha Stewart’s creativity and yes, her
pocketbook−and even her staff. [How much
of that do you really think she does herself anyway?]
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| From Pinterest |
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The Food Network will be calling to
schedule an interview for their Holiday feature week.
Our homes will be filled with aromas of homemade Snicker
Doodles, apple & pumpkin pies, fresh baked cinnamon buns, mulled cider
& fresh brewed coffee. Our table and counter tops will be heavy laden with
trays of bright colored, perfectly decorated Christmas cookies, mini loaves,
cakes, and bundled candies−all freshly made by our skilled and loving
hands.
Creatively packaged goodie bundles will
be seen awaiting delivery to the neighbors and shut-ins.
Our minds are bursting with wonder-filled plans:
Our homes will be brilliantly decorated with holiday lights and homemade
décor that even Martha would envy. All
the lights, yes, every single one, will actually work and burn brightly in just
the right spot, casting just the right shadows, in just the right places. It
will all be just right. The fragrant fresh greenery, colorfully styled with
perfectly harmonized ribbons and bows, intermixes the air with the cinnamon
and spice. Umm, we smile, close our eyes, deeply inhale and hold for a moment
just to soak it all in.
Our minds are bursting with wonder-filled plans:
The family will all be together at the community parade and tree
lighting ceremony, after which we’ll enjoy hot chocolate while we chat and
laugh together. Off to church we’ll go on Christmas Sunday* and joyfully sing our
favorite Christmas carols. Each heart will be thrilled again by the Christmas
play. We’ll worship the new born King and joyfully say, “Merry Christmas,” to
each of our church friends. [*Christmas Sunday is defined as the
Sunday just before Christmas day. I had to explain that term to some of my
grandchildren.]
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| Pinterest | |
Our minds are bursting with
wonder-filled plans:
We’ll give and receive delightfully simple and meaningful gifts this year. We
won’t spend more than we can afford. And best of all, everyone will appreciate−really
appreciate−the gifts we give. As they carefully open each one, their
eyes will sparkle with anticipation.
Then they’ll look into our faces and
gleefully say, “Oh thank you so much! I
just love it! It’s just right!” Then
we’ll receive that big hug of gratitude and smile as we sweetly say, “You’re
welcome, Honey. I love you so much.”
So- our wonder-filled plans are
brilliant, indeed. Our imaginings can flit and float to impeccable holiday thrills.
But—really now, let’s do be real. When our families consist of human beings,
we’ll deal with human frailties. We, ourselves, are not the picture of
perfection, you know.
Let’s begin our plans with a prayer
to the One we celebrate and ask for His leading as we set our sights on
Christmas. After all—it’s His birthday.
AND let’s do what Proverbs 16:3
wisely tells us: Commit your work to the
LORD, and your plans will be established.
Please leave
a comment and share ways you manage to maintain focus and composure during your
Christmas planning and follow-through. Merry
Christmas!
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©Connie Wohlford, amended from December
2015
