Santa Claus is Coming to Town....
We took our granddaughter to Pat's Union Christmas Party yesterday. We have been taking Cassidy every year since she was born. This year was the first year that she really get's that Santa Claus is real and she is a excited four year old. The innocence in her face glows like an Angel.
Santa and Mrs. Claus walked in and Cassidy started doing the little jumping up and down thing that she does when she is excited. She started that as soon as she could stand up. Her arms wave up and down to a song she must hear in her head. It's precious. It's so girly.
I was kneeling down right next to her, so I could watch her expressions up close and personal. I don't want to miss a thing. She stopped jumping up and down and put her tiny little arm around me and whispered “He's kinda old?” she had a serious look on her face and her eyes said “Do you think he can do it? Do you think he's going to be able to deliver all of those toys”?
A child can see it. They can see beyond the face and into the eyes. They can see when something is wrong, when something is missing.
We have known Santa and Mrs. Claus for years. Santa knew Pat by name. They had a relationship but Santa didn't recognize him yesterday. Santa's eyes had that look. The look of bewilderment. The look of lost dreams. Cassidy saw it. She knew. Children see these things. They see deep down into our souls. She might not understand what it is but she felt it.
Pat placed her unto Santa's lap and she told him she wanted a YOYO and other stuff. Then his eyes smiled and He said “I haven't had the request in years....a YOYO...you want a YOYO? I watched his aged hands as he motioned up and down as if he had a YOYO is his hands. He was Santa again. The Santa we knew the Santa we love.
“Thank you Jesus for the glimpse of our old friend. Thank you for the moment. Thank you for showing me how precious a moment can be. At that moment as he smiled and spoke it was if time stood still. I understood what it meant to be in the moment. Nothing else matter. Nothing else was on my mind. There was nothing to rush to get to. I know that you call us to see life this way. You know we can't do it every minute but you want us to see the gifts that you give us in our daily life. I am reminded of the Gospel when the Children wanted to spend time with you and the Apostles tried to tell them that you where busy....to busy for the children. I can almost see you, hear you as you whispered “Send them here, let the children come to me...the kingdom of belongs to children like this” I can see your eyes as they soften as a child climbed on to your lab. I can see how time stood still, the busyness stopped. I can see you smile as you talked to them. I saw you yesterday in Santa's smile looking down on my granddaughter. I saw your love. I saw your joy.”
It is my hope that you and I can stop during this busy time of Christmas and be in the moment. To see with our hearts the love that Jesus has for us. To recognize Him in those around us. To look for moments that are gifts. Time goes by so quickly. These days will be lost before we know it. Now is the time...not next week, not next year, not when the work is done, or when we retire.....what's important doesn't cost money, doesn't require any special arrangements...it is right in front of us....in the eyes and hearts of those around us. Let time stand still now.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Time
Dec 3, 2011
I use to have the cleanest house, the neatest yard. I was on top of things. It's not like that anymore. A clean house use to define me. It was what I thought made me important. It was what I was all about. How sad that is to me now. I would joke that on my tombstone there would be a duster and the words "She knew how to clean". I don't want to be remembered like that now. I want to be remembered as a person who knew how to laugh. How to love. Who made time for others. How I still battle with what I should be doing and what I want to be doing. The should's are: Clean the bathroom, make sure the laundry basket is empty. What will people think of me if they stop over and see dust and papers laying around or dishes in the sink. Sometimes people say to me " You must have a lot of time on your hands" when they see a card I've created. I think "no", I don't have anymore time then you, I make the time. Even if I have to run myself rag-it because I want to do it all. I took pride in my ability to clean like no other and felt it was a compliment, that it made me stand out from all the rest. I am sure now that it made other people uncomfortable to be in my presence. To have me in their home. Although I never cared about how their home looked, they probably didn't know it.
As I am getting older I have a internal fight with Mrs. Clean and who I am now. I don't enjoy it anymore. It's a chore. It takes up my time that I would much rather be doing something else. Something with my creativity. I love to creative cards and paper crafts. It is a passion. I spend time looking at graphics I can use on the computer. I look at other people's creations. Then I squeeze time in to create. It's on my mind all of the time. If I only had the time. I work part time now. We are empty nesters. I have time but I cloud it up with stuff. Cleaning, shopping and looking up graphics on the computer. I think someday I'll have the time. Maybe Wednesday when I get done with the cleaning. Maybe Friday after I do the shopping. Maybe on Monday, after work, after dinner, after the dishes, after, after....Then it's bed time. Well maybe tomorrow.....
There is a small voice inside of me that tell's me to write. Write about my everyday happenings. Just the day to day things that go on in all of our lives. I like to take an event, relate it to a lesson that I I need to learn or someone else can learn from.I like to take things that give us all something to think about. I like to include Jesus in what I am writing about. People say that I am good at it. If I only had the time!
Today I decided that the time is now. That I will give this a chance. I will write. I will post my writings on my blog again. Like I use to. It always made me feel good. To write something. "Jesus, if this is my purpose I only ask that you guide my thoughts". I know I need to read your word more so I can tie it together. I know that it means less searching and more time doing. More time making my cards and more time writing. This is my passion. I have been doing these two things since I was a little girl. They saved me from all of the pain that was going on around me and inside of me. I would draw with crayons. I would create little projects. I would write on what ever I could find. Poems and I kept a journal for years. I would dream of the day that I would be able to have a computer and have all of the things that I needed to create. I have all of those things now. I have more than I could ever use. I have a craft room now with a computer in it. I have been blessed.
Jesus, you have given me everything I need to fulfill my purpose and now you are giving me the Okay to pursuit it. Help me as I sit here and type the words out that are always in my head. Help me to see my everyday happenings and how they relate to you. Teach me though the words and thoughts that I put in this computer. Help me go get beyond the should's that I carry like a suitcase. Remind me often that's it's okay that I did terrible in spelling and English. Remind me that I have thoughts that need to be written for my sake and maybe for someone else's. That it's okay not be perfect. That it's okay for my writing to be a little messy, a little out of place. Just like it's okay for my house to be a little messy. I look forward to our journey".
I use to have the cleanest house, the neatest yard. I was on top of things. It's not like that anymore. A clean house use to define me. It was what I thought made me important. It was what I was all about. How sad that is to me now. I would joke that on my tombstone there would be a duster and the words "She knew how to clean". I don't want to be remembered like that now. I want to be remembered as a person who knew how to laugh. How to love. Who made time for others. How I still battle with what I should be doing and what I want to be doing. The should's are: Clean the bathroom, make sure the laundry basket is empty. What will people think of me if they stop over and see dust and papers laying around or dishes in the sink. Sometimes people say to me " You must have a lot of time on your hands" when they see a card I've created. I think "no", I don't have anymore time then you, I make the time. Even if I have to run myself rag-it because I want to do it all. I took pride in my ability to clean like no other and felt it was a compliment, that it made me stand out from all the rest. I am sure now that it made other people uncomfortable to be in my presence. To have me in their home. Although I never cared about how their home looked, they probably didn't know it.
As I am getting older I have a internal fight with Mrs. Clean and who I am now. I don't enjoy it anymore. It's a chore. It takes up my time that I would much rather be doing something else. Something with my creativity. I love to creative cards and paper crafts. It is a passion. I spend time looking at graphics I can use on the computer. I look at other people's creations. Then I squeeze time in to create. It's on my mind all of the time. If I only had the time. I work part time now. We are empty nesters. I have time but I cloud it up with stuff. Cleaning, shopping and looking up graphics on the computer. I think someday I'll have the time. Maybe Wednesday when I get done with the cleaning. Maybe Friday after I do the shopping. Maybe on Monday, after work, after dinner, after the dishes, after, after....Then it's bed time. Well maybe tomorrow.....
There is a small voice inside of me that tell's me to write. Write about my everyday happenings. Just the day to day things that go on in all of our lives. I like to take an event, relate it to a lesson that I I need to learn or someone else can learn from.I like to take things that give us all something to think about. I like to include Jesus in what I am writing about. People say that I am good at it. If I only had the time!
Today I decided that the time is now. That I will give this a chance. I will write. I will post my writings on my blog again. Like I use to. It always made me feel good. To write something. "Jesus, if this is my purpose I only ask that you guide my thoughts". I know I need to read your word more so I can tie it together. I know that it means less searching and more time doing. More time making my cards and more time writing. This is my passion. I have been doing these two things since I was a little girl. They saved me from all of the pain that was going on around me and inside of me. I would draw with crayons. I would create little projects. I would write on what ever I could find. Poems and I kept a journal for years. I would dream of the day that I would be able to have a computer and have all of the things that I needed to create. I have all of those things now. I have more than I could ever use. I have a craft room now with a computer in it. I have been blessed.
Jesus, you have given me everything I need to fulfill my purpose and now you are giving me the Okay to pursuit it. Help me as I sit here and type the words out that are always in my head. Help me to see my everyday happenings and how they relate to you. Teach me though the words and thoughts that I put in this computer. Help me go get beyond the should's that I carry like a suitcase. Remind me often that's it's okay that I did terrible in spelling and English. Remind me that I have thoughts that need to be written for my sake and maybe for someone else's. That it's okay not be perfect. That it's okay for my writing to be a little messy, a little out of place. Just like it's okay for my house to be a little messy. I look forward to our journey".
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