And so it is Christmas...

And so it is Christmas.  Once again, the hustle and bustle of a Holiday that has been honored for centuries.  Once again, for me, the hustle and bustle of preparing for THE day with my family.  Over the years, that family has included not just myself and my children, but sisters and brothers, friends, and some people who came and went because they had no where else to go.  It has been a most satisfying time of year for me, cooking for a small army and wrapping presents and delivering them, and all the other stuff that goes along with it.

But this year is different.  This year my children, the grown ups, decided that they would take over the fort of Christmas and do it all.  Yes, this is my first year not cooking for the army, and just relaxing in the presence of the family God gave me.  I am a bit amazed at it all, the preparation going on behind my back that is, because I was always the one in the Christmas Sleuth business.  But I have been dethroned, at least this year, and for this time, I am grateful.

I have been pushing myself pretty hard the last two years, taking care of my Dad, taking care of family, and working full time.  Little by little I have watched the spark take longer to ignite in the morning.  Little by little I have begun to drift into daydreams of days gone by.  I guess that is how getting older happens.  Little by little.  But it is not all a bad thing.



For years I have confronted life as a foot race.  A 50 yard dash to be exact.  Breaking my leg in a gazillion pieces only set me back a couple of years, and I picked right up and carried on.  But during those years I started to learn that life is not a foot race, it is a marathon with no end that is evident.  I took pride in baking 30 or 40 pies and delivering them to the jail.  I took pride in being sole cook and cleanup artist for an army of 25.  I took pride in being the one who paid for every ounce of it, not just with money, but with headaches and aching backs.  And in taking pride in all of it, I missed most of it.  Oh, I did try to teach my children family traditions, and we will see how that plays out tomorrow.  But most of all, I just missed a lot of laughter and fun that was going on, while I was just too busy.

This year is different.  They are taking over, and I am letting them.  This next year is going to be significantly different for me, since I retire in just 8 days.  Although I am nervous about giving up the reigns of my life, I realize that this is what God would have had me do all along. Give Him the reigns, let Him delegate the work, instead of trying to do it all myself.

Tomorrow I am going to focus on what this season is all about.  And for me, and millions of others, it is about Jesus.  I want to spend time not just with my family, but with my savior, and rest in His love.  I want to kneel, not at the foot of a manger, but at the foot of the cross that would be the fruit of that manger.  I want to bask in the blessings of the family He has given me, and marvel at the works of His wondrous hands.  I want to spend tomorrow not just it joy, but in thanksgiving.

I hope for all of you that you have a most beautiful day.  I know I will.  :)

Copyright © 2010 by Susan Linn-Gomez. All Rights Reserved.