Couple walking at sunset, surrounded by crashing waves on a beach Nørre Vorupør, on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Thisted in Denmark. Photo by Slaunger
Good morning, friends,
Well, I took Christmas decorations down yesterday. I have a tradition of waiting until after the New Year to take everything down, but this year Joshua and I seemed ready to bring it all down early. Our space was much more cramped this year. My normal routine of having my quiet time each morning by the lit tree was hard with three couches, a tree, a chest and two side tables. I would walk in sit and get claustrophobic. So, next year, adjustments will need to be made.
Christmas, this year, for our family, just felt very, very different. Having Joshua gone until right before Christmas for a week was hard for us, but we gave him away freely to his family, to his beloved father. We have watched him over this month just wait. We know the word is coming from Florida, we dread it. Tears come at the most unexpected times for my man.
Christmas Eve brought the news that my parents (whom we normally spend Christmas) were sick with the flu. And so Christmas day was quiet. We walked through the day together, without much pomp or circumstance. There was an awareness of the beauty of the day. The Glorious touching our earth as an infant.
So, as I packed each ornament, I looked at each one remembering who gave us each one. Loving the memory, enjoying the moment, and closing the box brought an ache for my husband. The next time the boxes open…
Truly, the next time the boxes open, we really have no idea what our reality will hold. When we closed the boxes last year, we had no idea what this year would hold. I’m glad honestly. I’m glad I can’t read the future. I don’t want to know. I’m glad my future is in God’s hand. I don’t want to know.
Broken bones, surgeries, cancer, pain, yuck. On the other hand, this year has held beauty, reconciliation, joy, friendship and I look around and I am full. Life is like that. The Lord is in the midst of it all.
Thus says the Lord, Who makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters, Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:16, 18-19AMP
So, maybe we do turn over a new year. Yep, 2015. For me, for my family, we hold onto our Joshua, walking with him on these mighty waters. We never expected this turn in the road. God did. He knew. So we reach out for the One who makes a way through the sea. We see death as an end. Of course, we do!
God does not. It is a beginning. He makes all things new. Joshua will see his dad again. This is not the end. This is not his final goodbye. However you close your boxes this year, you have no idea what your life will look like when they open again next Christmas. God does. He can be trusted with this life of yours.
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