Merry Christmas!

Looking around I see that it must be getting close to Christmas. The stores have Christmas displays. We are getting ready for our church Christmas program. Already had one Christmas party and another sheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Even the calendar says December 18th, one week til Christmas.  How did that happen? Suddenly we are here...and almost at the end of 2020! 

Our families are talking about plans for the holidays, dates for family get togethers, travel plans, menus for holiday dinners. I see a few households have their Christmas decorations on outdoor display, and probably a lot more have their trees up and decorations noting the holidays in their homes.

Here? Well I finally got the Thanksgiving decorations put away since they were looking a bit out of place, but I haven't put  up any Christmas decorations yet. And since there are no celebrations scheduled to take place at our house, this will probably be it. And I'm OK with that, at least I don't have to bother to take them down and put them away when Christmas is over.

Since we are trying to stay true to our keto diet through the holidays, we aren't doing a bunch of holiday baking. This is the first year in many years that I haven't been scouring the stores for raw peanuts to make my famous peanut brittle. I'm just a bit sad about that, but if I made it the floodgates would burst open and the whole keto program would collapse. I will have to make one concession to cheating...for one of our holiday celebrations I will make a pumpkin pie. I know, it's more of a Thanksgiving dessert, but I love pumpkin pie any time of year.

Each year I always come up to the holiday season feeling the need for something more meaningful than food, parties and gifts. And, of course, the obvious solution is to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Still, each year, even though I know this is the reason for the season and strive to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, I become overwhelmed by the preparations for the holidays and lose sight of the blessedness of Christmas. 

Enter the year 2020! And what a year it has been, mostly bad. But God doesn't get our attention by showering us with a life of ease and comfort. He knows that his children lose sight of Him in those times when all is well and we don't need to look to him for the things we need in life. When we can pay the bills, we don't need to ask for help. When we are feeling well and self-sufficient, why do we need to depend on God for our daily needs? When we are surrounded by peace and blessings, even though we know deep down that God is providing this blessing, we forget to be thankful. Well this year there hasn't been an ounce of peace in this world, and daily provision, while still fairly abundant (if you aren't out of toilet paper), has come harder than in past years. God is yanking our chains and causing us to look to Him this year more than usual.

The birth of Christ was foretold by the prophets hundreds of years before it came to pass. Do you suppose there were many who gave up? It had been predicted for a long time, but there was no sign that it was any closer than it had been when it was first prophesied. And yet, when the time was right, God sent Jesus as a baby into the world to fulfill his plan for mankind. With the birth of Jesus came salvation and a way for man to be forgiven and be reconciled to God. That must of brought unbelievable joy to the hearts of those who believed that this was the promised Messiah. And as it was over 2000 years ago, it is still true today. So no matter what's going on around us, pandemic, riots and violence, political unrest, or whatever is going on in your world, Jesus is still here to bridge the gap between us and God. And right there is the joy in the Christmas holidays.

Just as the birth of Christ was predicted but seemed slow in coming, so is the return of Christ also predicted. And yes, it seems slow in coming. I have often wondered what God is waiting for and why he doesn't hurry it along before the world becomes even more wicked than it is. The answer is that I don't know. But God's timing is perfect, and just as he sent His son to earth many centuries ago when the time was just right, he will send Him back to earth to bring his own to Him when the time is perfect. We can't give up hope just because it seems that it isn't happening, it will happen, guaranteed!

Our Christmas is looking a bit different than it has in past years. This year we will be celebrating our last Christmas with our mother. We have celebrated several last Christmases with other family members, but this time we truly know that it's our last time with Mom. This will make it more special and bittersweet, but we are thankful that we have this time with her. Our family Christmases have been changing a bit each year in other ways. Our kids are getting extended families and rather than hosting celebrations, we tend to be joining them in their celebrations. And each year seems to bring a few new faces to the celebration as grandchildren are added to the family...what a blessing!

Since I didn't get Christmas cards out...again...we are taking this means to wish each of you a merry Christmas. Even if you are separated from family during this pandemic, we pray that you can be joined to them in spirit. Merry Christmas!