Tag: Christmas

Winter Roses…

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I was recently discussing how this would be the first Christmas in over ten years that we have no pets in our home for the holidays.

We would always debate if our cat “Lucky” had been naughty or nice even as he precariously tried to become one with the Christmas tree within weeks of claiming us as his own.

That same year, my Shetland sheepdog was a Christmas gift from my husband, quickly renamed Noel to suit the occasion. We lost them both this year. I didn’t anticipate how much I would miss them this Christmas season.

Christmas is not a joyful time for many.

The holiday season can accentuate grief, spark depression and bring about a range of emotions, many of which we would rather not deal with.

I lost my father one Christmas.

This Christmas will be a first for those grappling with loss and barely hanging in there just trying to get through the season.

bnwrose photo chall 4  And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Expecting those who are hurting to be joyful is unrealistic. We can’t always understand someone’s pain, but we can certainly respect it.  At the very least, we can extend peace and good will toward them.

Hopefully, the pain eventually wanes. Or perhaps, our tolerance for it becomes greater.

So what does this have to do with roses?

We are experiencing unusually mild weather. This allowed me to clean up the skeletal remains of summer.

And then I saw her.

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She was atop the retaining wall as I snapped dead branches from a hydrangea.

“Marie” sat comfortably trying to figure out just what exactly I was doing.

Now, I may be just one cat shy of the crazy cat lady on the corner, (and yes, I live on the corner!) but I haven’t seen any snakes so I figure it’s a fair trade. Regardless, I enjoyed Marie’s company and I suspect she enjoyed mine.

As I finished, I noticed the rose blooming.

We’ve already had one freeze so “technically” it should have stopped blooming by now.

Yet, God will occasionally remind me that He is not moved by any calendar. He provides streams in the desert. Roses in the winter?

Why not?

Marie filled my void today.

God can provide a bit beauty in the bleak. And sometimes when we feel we can’t hold on, God brings a bit of spring to us.

Unexpectedly.  And with Love.

If you’re hurting this Christmas season, may spring find you soon…

Peace to you.

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Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 NKJV

 

Mary’s Christmas!

As many of us gear up for the “holiday” season I think it’s important that we take time and reflect upon all the fuss we find at every turn. We are bombarded with sales ads, incentives to buy more, more, more and media outlets doing their very best to push the notion that if we don’t participate we are indeed missing out.

The Virgin Mary found favor with God yet her Christmas was one without the trappings of luxury and hoopla we find marketed today. Mary even had to endure some things as she was favored by God.

Mary was pregnant before her marriage to Joseph. I’m pretty confident she had to endure the scandal and gossip of her peers in that day. She probably received the same stares and crazed looks anyone in this day would receive if making a claim of Immaculate Conception.

Mary birthed our Savior in less than ideal surroundings. I can’t think of many women, myself included, who would relish the fact of laboring in a stable. Some thought the King of kings would be born in a lavish inn and greeted with fanfare yet it was instead a “silent night.”

Later still, Mary would bear the responsibility of actually mothering the Son of God. Talk about pressure! I can only imagine what that did to her relationship with Joseph and their family dynamics. Not only was she responsible for Jesus the child but she eventually watched Him die an agonizing death. If she was so favored by God shouldn’t her life have been easier?

Favor from God doesn’t always manifest itself as we think it would. The Bible doesn’t promise an easy life of happiness and bliss. In fact, it assures us there will be trials.

We are often looking for a “fix” to our situations and may presume that God isn’t listening or that we have somehow “failed” when things don’t go as expected. Many people believe that if they are doing everything “right” in their lives, as best they can, they will be carefree and have no worries.

Mary endured much even as she was “favored” by God. She was blessed to be the mother of our Savior but that blessing wasn’t necessarily an easy path for her. And like Mary, we too must handle situations we don’t fully understand and possibly never will but God IS with us!

So, as the holiday lights sparkle and dazzle, remember that Christmas began without elaborate decor or grandeur, no widespread celebrations or multitudes of gifts. These things don’t define Christmas.

“Christmas” began in the most humble of places, with two people obedient to God and His presence upon them. Like Mary, that’s all we need.

“And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” Luke 1:28 NKJV

Merry Christmas!