Where Are You Christmas?

It’s always interesting how this week between Christmas and New Years is, a lot of times, about trying to figure out what day it is! And then you wonder, was I supposed to do something … yesterday!:)  I love Christmastime; the lights, the laughter, being with family and friends, the food, but the best part of Christmas is the celebration of our Savior’s birth. We go through our years, celebrating different holidays…Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4^th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, then Christmas rolls back around again. I don’t know about anyone else, but it seems it rolls around quicker than it used to!!! I was thinking how we look forward to these holidays, expecting to do something fun or get together with friends and family or even take a trip to some wonderful vacation spot. But the days in between… sometimes we get the doldrums, maybe even a little “down” because nothing is happening that is fun or interesting to us.😑 I’m not sure if this feeling comes with age or a diagnosis of SMZLymphoma, but I tend to look at everyday as a celebration these days! When I wake up in the morning, I am thankful I can see another day, another opportunity to possibly help someone, encourage someone or just “be” in my house and spend time with the Lord.😍 Life is a precious commodity that we take for granted. When we are young, we feel we will live forever and then zip zip you are middle age, and then fast forward to “being older”. I’m not going to use the term of being “old” because that is a discouraging word to me so I choose to say I’m “older” now and that has a more comforting ring to it.

Last night I took my Christmas tree 🎄down because it had been up since the day before Thanksgiving and it was d.e.a.d. and was smelling so strong that it was causing me breathing problems. I started around 7:30p.m. and by 9:00p.m., that tree was on the deck! I prayed a lot for strength while I was de-decorating it because it wasn’t as easy as decorating was and it was very tiring for me…not to speak of the fact I couldn’t get it out of the stand, so thankfully I had put a lot of plastic underneath it so I slid it to the back door and gave it a shove! So now it awaits a Good Samaritan who will come by and take it to the road because I no longer am in partnership with her. She has been a good companion to me, but the time has come to part ways! I think it’s interesting when you have a live Christmas tree, you almost have a bond with it, because it is alive, a wonderful part of God’s creation that he put on earth to be part of His ecosystem that gives and sustains life. Also, this tree, even though it is d.e.a.d., it will still give back to the earth!!! We can do the same thing if we decide to live our lives as if every single day is Christmas! When we leave this earth, the memory people will hold in their hearts of us, will be...everyday was Christmas to them!!! We have a choice to make y'all!!! 

I always miss the tree when it’s gone, I guess mostly because the lights and decorations bring joy and contentment. You start to think, as the decorations come down; where are you Christmas? I was thinking of the song by Faith Hill, Where Are You Christmas as I was taking the tree down, so I found the lyrics and posted below, because the words are very meaningful if we take the time to read them and think about what is being said. “If there is love in your heart and your mind you will feel like Christmas all the time.”  If you are a Christ follower, you know that God is Love, so as we walk this journey of life, we truly should feel as it IS Christmas all the time. Of course, we have to deal with the “stuff” that comes down the pike of life, but we should always remember that He is going to take care of whatever comes, He will not leave us, He will not abandon us or hang us out to dry as the old saying goes. He is always there, even when we don’t feel him, if he lives in our hearts, its Christmas all the time!

When I think of what 2017 brought to me and my two children, it does not seem like Christmas was here all of this year. We have seen more doctors and technicians and nurses and PAs and NPs and radiologists and operating rooms and hospitals than we cared to see in a lifetime! While I am thankful for each of these professionals and places, I am not so thankful for the diagnoses that caused us to see each of them. God’s word says to be thankful “in” all things…it doesn’t say I have to be thankful for all things. While I won’t be sharing details, my children have faced serious health challenges this year and we are very thankful we are all “here” to see another new year. When I look back at this year and think about the things we have faced, I can only think of the faithfulness of God to me and to them because if I did not have faith, I’m not sure I would still be present, because of the emotional and physical pain that this year brought to us. I’m thankful to God for his faithfulness to me and to them and I’m thankful that he carried us through it all… He’s a good, good Father.🙌

I am also thankful for friends and family that God has blessed us with, who have been there to support us. There are people who have given of themselves to drive me to the doctor or to a treatment or procedure or scan. Those who have brought food or took time out of their busy schedule to visit are a total blessing from God, not to speak of people who are not even in my close circle of friends who have told me..."I pray for you every day!" I consider these things to be Christmas all year… while I had never thought of it that way before, I will from now on.

If you know someone who is dealing with a sickness, a loss of any kind and you don’t feel you have words to say to them, don’t give that feeling a second thought because you don’t need words. All a person needs who is in a battle is your presence! So don’t be afraid to reach out or call or visit. You will be so glad you did!

I just wanted to share a post before 2017 ends to maybe offer up a thought to you…why not make Christmas last all the way through 2018 until it’s Christmas again. Then we won’t have to wonder…Where Are You Christmas?... we will be like the Grinch with his little heart pumping for the first time in a long time… we will “feel” Christmas in our hearts!💗

Love and Blessings to each of you in 2018 and when you have a cuppa hot tea, think of me and if you don’t drink hot tea, try it, you just might like it!!!

PS: there’s a ps at the bottom!!😀

                                     

          "Where Are You Christmas"

Where are you Christmas
Why can't I find you
Why have you gone away
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me
Why can't I hear music play

My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too

Where are you Christmas
Do you remember
The one you used to know
I'm not the same one
See what the time's done
Is that why you have let me go

Christmas is here
Everywhere, oh
Christmas is here
If you care, oh

If there is love in your heart and your mind
You will feel like Christmas all the time

I feel you Christmas
I know I've found you
You never fade away
The joy of Christmas
Stays here inside us
Fills each and every heart with love

Where are you Christmas
Fill your heart with love

PS:  After I finished typing this post just now, two things happened within minutes that I have to share with you! There is an item that I had been looking for at Costco and they were sold out. I’m not going to tell you what the item is because it will be a big laugh at my expense, SO I will tell you though, that my daughter just text me and said that her friend has a friend who is in Raleigh at Costco and this man has found the item and purchased it for me. I had been searching online for this item, but had not purchased yet...because God knew that HE was going to supply it at a deal! If I told you what it is, it would just be too funny so just laugh anyway like you really know😂!!!  Then my doorbell rang and one of those “angels’ I have been speaking of was at the door with a present for me that she had made. She said, “this is not a Christmas present!” I said…I understand but I was thinking all the time…today is Christmas…I don’t have to wonder where it went!!!

Thank you for reading my blog and please share with others who may need a little encouragement or a laugh!

NEW PICTURES ARE IN ALBUMS AND YOU CAN SEE MY "NOT A CHRISTMAS PRESENT, CHRISTMAS PRESENT"😍