"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19
I have spent much of the year pondering treasured up things. I think that's common when someone you love passes on into eternity. My dad wasn't much of a talker so I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about what he held dear and what he regretted in his life. I know there were places he wanted to see that he never saw and that was a huge source of guilt for me when he died. But what other things did he treasure up?
I think about Mary as she raised the child, Jesus, the savior of the world. On the days when it was really hard to be a mom, when she wasn't really sure about the angel's announcement of Jesus' identity, would she think back to the events of that first Christmas for comfort and assurance? When Jesus had a rough day, would she tell him the story of the shepherds and the gifts the Magi had brought him and how they foretold a greater plan that was birthed in God's own heart?
In the last few months, several things have happened in the lives of my children that I have treasured up and I want to be able to share them so that I can ponder them forever in my heart.
Bethany was sick the last week of school. One night, she had a high fever; she was bundled up and shivering in her bed and I went down the hall to get her some medicine. As I came back to her room, I heard her voice. Like an angel, she was singing "Silent Night" in German; it was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard and it went straight to my heart.
Caylah has spent much of the year telling me what a wonderful country one of her classmates is from. The food is wonderful, the scenery is gorgeous, the people wear beautiful clothes and this little girl is the luckiest person in the world because her country is so special. We went to the UN bizarre this Christmas season and visited this country's booth where Caylah oohed and awed over everything on display. As we were leaving the booth, she said, "Mom, I love Persia! It is in my heart." I almost cried as I thought about my little girl loving Iran like that, and it is something that I will need to remember as she grows and follows the Lord's leading for her life.
Nathan has spent the last four years in a diverse faith culture that has challenged him to explore many different world views and decide for himself who or what to follow. This fall, he shared with Joe and I that he had thought about many of the religions that his friends follow and some of them had interesting ideas at first. But after he thought about it, he decided that Christianity was the only "religion" that made sense. It was the only one where God came to man to meet his needs instead of man trying to find someway to reach God which is just impossible.
These things, I want to remember, to be able to share with my children when they have a rough day or a faith struggle. And I want to remember them on days when I am having a rough time being a mom or being away from my family. Days like today.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Love
During our first Christmas season in Vienna, we redefined most of our Christmas traditions. We don't have our extended family with us, and the holiday is so different in Vienna that the redefinition was actually born out of necessity. Over the past four years we have developed some really great traditions that allow us to celebrate Jesus, be with our friends and family and enjoy our city. One of our favorite ones is picking out our real tree.
It is quite a challenge to get a real tree home from the store when you don't have a car or truck. It is possible to bring home trees on the bus or subway or to drive it home in a store shopping cart, much to the enjoyment of native Austrians, but it isn't easy. So the first year we were in Austria, a wonderful couple from Costa Rica that we had just met, offered to drive us in their van to pick out our tree.
It was a magical night. Several inches of snow had already fallen as we drove to the store and huge lacy flakes continued to fall. We picked out our perfect tree while the snow fell. we laughed as a family and got to know our new friends. The men hoisted the tree on the car as the flakes got bigger and bigger and we all ate gummy candies on the way home. The very, very slow way home as the Cosa Rican and West Texan laughed about their inability to drive in the snow. And this began our tradition of getting our tree with the Pachecos.
Since that time, our friendship has grown and this family is very dear to us. We have worked closely together at the school. Their children have watched our children; we have eaten at each others homes; they have met our family from America and we have prayed for their family in Costa Rica.
The time came this year for us to get our tree and the situation is a little different. We don't see this family every day now and we have a car, so even though we invited the Pachecos to come with us to get the tree, it wasn't really necessary and their schedule didn't allow it. We had planned to go Friday night, but after a long week, we decided to wait until Saturday. So Saturday around noon, we loaded up in the car, both excited and a little heavy-hearted to pick out our tree. We went into the store and started looking for a few home improvement items that we needed before we went out to look for trees. The kids ran a few in-store errands for us and came back at a run..."Senor, Senor is in the store!" Joe and I went to investigate and sure enough, Mr. Pacheco was in the store, looking for home improvement items too. Mrs. Pacheco joined us a few minutes later, her hands filled with items.
Together, we walked out to the trees just as the snow begin to fall and picked out our Christmas tree. Although they weren't able to stay for long, we were able to complete our Christmas tradition together and spend a few special minutes with a couple who is very dear to our hearts.
Oh, how Jesus loves us. In this season that has been so difficult for me, He reminded me again how much He loves us. He placed this couple in that exact store at the exact moment we were there so we could continue our tradition because it mattered to me. Oh how great the Father's love is for His children and for me.
It is quite a challenge to get a real tree home from the store when you don't have a car or truck. It is possible to bring home trees on the bus or subway or to drive it home in a store shopping cart, much to the enjoyment of native Austrians, but it isn't easy. So the first year we were in Austria, a wonderful couple from Costa Rica that we had just met, offered to drive us in their van to pick out our tree.
It was a magical night. Several inches of snow had already fallen as we drove to the store and huge lacy flakes continued to fall. We picked out our perfect tree while the snow fell. we laughed as a family and got to know our new friends. The men hoisted the tree on the car as the flakes got bigger and bigger and we all ate gummy candies on the way home. The very, very slow way home as the Cosa Rican and West Texan laughed about their inability to drive in the snow. And this began our tradition of getting our tree with the Pachecos.
Since that time, our friendship has grown and this family is very dear to us. We have worked closely together at the school. Their children have watched our children; we have eaten at each others homes; they have met our family from America and we have prayed for their family in Costa Rica.
The time came this year for us to get our tree and the situation is a little different. We don't see this family every day now and we have a car, so even though we invited the Pachecos to come with us to get the tree, it wasn't really necessary and their schedule didn't allow it. We had planned to go Friday night, but after a long week, we decided to wait until Saturday. So Saturday around noon, we loaded up in the car, both excited and a little heavy-hearted to pick out our tree. We went into the store and started looking for a few home improvement items that we needed before we went out to look for trees. The kids ran a few in-store errands for us and came back at a run..."Senor, Senor is in the store!" Joe and I went to investigate and sure enough, Mr. Pacheco was in the store, looking for home improvement items too. Mrs. Pacheco joined us a few minutes later, her hands filled with items.
Together, we walked out to the trees just as the snow begin to fall and picked out our Christmas tree. Although they weren't able to stay for long, we were able to complete our Christmas tradition together and spend a few special minutes with a couple who is very dear to our hearts.
Oh, how Jesus loves us. In this season that has been so difficult for me, He reminded me again how much He loves us. He placed this couple in that exact store at the exact moment we were there so we could continue our tradition because it mattered to me. Oh how great the Father's love is for His children and for me.
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