Peace @ Panera

If you were to find yourself on my blog page, click on the "Christmas" tab under "Archives" found on the right hand side of your screen, you could read of gifts that we have given our children that have nothing to do with wrapping some box and putting it under a tree.  Instead, we've given them well-crafted "memories" to hold on to long after the tinsel, ribbons, and lights are down.

Alas, this year has been a bust.  We've never had a segregated family.  Having a college student that no longer lives full-time in our home has thrown a kink in my memory gifts.  It makes me sad.  I've wallowed around in this sadness, thinking all the "good years" were gone.  I've sulked.  I've even cried.  Where did all the time go?

NO MORE!!  Yesterday I spent a good portion of the morning at Panera sipping my free vanilla café latte and "catching" up on things.  I read.  I checked and answered emails.  I checked things off lists.  It felt good ... real good.  However, the most productive thing I did occurred prior to all the production.  I sat ... quiet ... and asked this star of the Christmas season ... to show me something I was missing ... or misunderstanding about this time of year.  He never misses an opportunity for such a heart date.  Because it's a relationship that often stirs up things in my inner self that just can't be put into words, I will just share the outcome.  Peace.  I found it.  Among my desire to create memories and build moments I had lost my Peace.

Late yesterday afternoon, walking around in my new Peace, I called a friend for some mundane reason.  What transpired during that ordinary phone call was information regarding an event to bless the elderly who are now considered "home bound" due to poor health.  This was in stark contrast to what I had just minutes before considered as introducing as a Memory Gift.  A local mega church was hosting a Holiday Extravaganza complete with a light show, carriage rides, free cocoa, and expensive give-a-ways as a means to portray the simple birth of a humble Messiah sent to remind the world of their need for a Savior (If I sound sarcastic, good.  It was meant to be.)

A Memory Gift was laid at my lap, at just the right time, for the WHOLE family.  Addison gets home tonight.  This will usher our first memory together.  Again, peace.  We will not go to the mega church's event ... we will gather and sing carols for those most likely to appreciate this gesture ... and we will do so as a family.

Ugh!  This season just begs for us to strive for bigger and better, doesn't it.  When will I learn?  The beauty of this season is to rest in peace and discover the treasures God has for us ... if we just ask ... and wait.

Wow ... still learning,
Christina (already humming carols)