A Christmas Eve Not Long Ago

This is one of my favorite poems that I've ever written.
I hope you enjoy!
-Amie


Twas a Christmas Eve not long ago
That was much like any other.
Around the tree the family gathered:
Mother, Father, Sister, and Brother.
The stockings were hung by the chimney
(Because that's where they go),
And over the front door
Hung a piece of mistletoe.
Scents of eggnog and cider
And Dad's favorite - fruitcake -
Drifted in from the kitchen
From all Mom had baked.
The radio played
"Jingle Bell Rock"
And the little family
Began to talk.
"I want goodies and cookies
And all Mommy's best,"
Said the little girl
As she clapped by her chest.
"I want a bomb,
And I'll blow up the world,"
Said the action packed son
As he turned and he twirled.
"I want a makeover
And Rodeo Drive's finest clothes,"
Said the beautiful wife
As she struck a model's pose.
Without a moment's delay
The father began to speak
As he looked as his family
His voice was quite weak.
"I want a family that represents
Good in this life.
Not a glutinous daughter,
Angry son, or superficial wife."
There was a moment of silence
As through each person's head
Flashed a picture of regret
Of all they had said.
"I want a diamond
To sell for the poor."
"I want a machine
That will end all war."
The mother and son looked at the girl
Who said with laughter,
"I still want that cookie,
But I guess it doesn't matter."

Age is Not a Factor

On the finale of the most recent season of The Biggest Loser, two of the contestants (both in their sixties) made a very similar observation: Age is not a factor. Both of these contestants, having started the season severely overweight, finished it 80+ pounds lighter. Quite a feat for someone at their age.

When we look at the Christmas story, their are two pregnancies which testify to the same. Elizabeth, who was an old woman, conceives by her husband. Now this is not a new miracle, as it also appears toward the beginning of the Bible when the nation of Israel is founded. Abram is promised offspring so plentiful that they are like the stars in the sky, yet he is very old. And in the same way God keeps his promise to Abram/Abraham, He keeps His promise to Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah.

At the same time, Mary, who was a young woman and Elizabeth's cousin, discovers she too is pregnant. Mary, however, is not yet married. This news, while not shocking today, would have been life shattering then. It didn't matter that Mary, a virgin, was pregnant through the touch of the Holy Spirit - not that of a man. Yet, instead of destroying Mary's life, this news fulfills it.

Why?

In both cases, Mary and Elizabeth were faithful to God. It didn't matter that one was too young or that one was too old. They allowed themselves to be available for whenever God saw fit to use them.

Brace yourself

Can I admit something without judgement? I've felt a little a Job-like lately. In the past few weeks I've gotten so much bad news that I'm almost not shocked by it anymore. Numb isn't the right adjective, but certainly not surprised. I feel like I am watching a storm, with thunderous pain stiking all around. I never know quite what to say, especially since "I'm sorry" seems so trite.

A few years ago we experienced a similar season in my husband's family and it got to the point where one of his cousins confessed, "I'm almost afraid to answer the phone when it rings."

I know I am no Job. I've given in to the temptation more than once to ask God why, and each time I hear Him respond the same way He did in Job 38:

1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?

8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?

12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.

16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.

HOPE

On a recent trip to my local Chili's I noticed that their annual Create-A-Pepper fundraiser for St Jude's had expanded to not only including t-shirts, but also slap bracelets. If you are a child of the 80's your mind has already filled with joyful memories of your youth - slapping your wrist, your friends, and basically anything that may or may not capture a slap from one of the world's coolest creations. I HAD to get one for each of my kids.

They were, obviously, immediately excited. By the next day, Josiah had become completely addicted. Studying the every nuance of the toy he asked, "What does this spell?"

"H. O. P. E. Hope," I told him.

"You mean, like, 'I hope I get that new Lego police set'?" he asked me.

For the next five minutes I listened to everything he hoped for. The list included a variety of items from a dog, to new toys, to a vacation, to a new mother (which upon realizing what he said he quickly recanted).

And as Josiah continued to consider his hopes, I considered mine. I remembered Romans 8:22-24 (NIV) which says:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?

I love that last part: Hope that is seen is no hope at all. The mystery of hope is that it exists and often for no reason. Hypothetically speaking, hope that IS seen is not hope, but rather experience. Experience is trusting in yourself. Hope is trusting in something or someone greater. I hope that my life reflects the words of Edward Mote's classic hymn:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Ka- Ka- King

Today marked a right of passage for Josiah - his first day of speech therapy. Having gone through this same process with Jacob, I knew exactly what to expect. As I listened to my four year old son interact with Miss Tonja, I giggled at things he said. Blue, green, black, white, and brown are boy colors. Pink and yellow are girls colors, and purple too. Don't you just love how children think?

Their first day together focused on the "k" sound. A classic error, Josiah forms his K's at the front of his mouth and it sounds like a T. I was impressed that in just 30 minutes of talking, Josiah's favorite dog had gone from "Tuptate" to "Cupcake". Thinking I would keep the momentum going, on the way home we discussed different things that started with a K. "Josiah, do we have a king?" I asked him.

"Yes," he replied.

"We don't have a king, we have a president," I corrected him.

He persisted, "No, we have a king."

Thinking I had outsmarted him, I asked, "Who is our king?"

He had to think for only a moment before telling me, "God is our King."

Yes, Josiah. Yes, He is.