Christmas Glow

Another little Christmas miracle; I am at the beach, my favorite place in the world, on this Christmas Day.  I aim for Christmas perfection every single year, but I don't get Christmas perfection every year. I am very much aware that "Christmas perfection" is a combination of heart warming circumstances and a state of mind, the state of mind being the most crucial element. Therefore, I am especially grateful for the Christmas perfection I felt this year.  We have an ENORMOUS set of extended family.  No way are we able to gather everyone together most holidays.  But a few showed up at our door last night and kicked off one of our best Christmas celebrations ever.  

One of my favorite realities about our family is the flexibility of our Christmas traditions.  We have many traditions we draw upon depending what seems practical for the current year. Each year there are themes similar to previous years and themes brand new.  

This is our first Christmas at the beach.  After gifts were given and opened with love and thoughtfulness, same as every year, many rushed to change out of pajamas into beach clothes to bike down to the water's edge and jump, splash, build and toss sand, while others burned energy on the beach basketball court.

I love the beach because it's the one place in the world where everyone understands how to live in the moment.  No one expects a sand castle to last more than a few minutes or a few hours at best. Yet we throw all of our passion and joy into this effort as though we are sculpting the next Michelangelo. We don't grasp, stress or cling to this fleeting moment, knowing full well a similar moment might come again, but never with the exact same feeling. We enjoy and release it without question.

Christmas Day, on the other hand, is a holiday scarred with expectations unmet for many people.  I have shed my share of tears on Christmas Day for one reason or another.  Some of us give up and grow callus, loosing our childlike wonder.  Some of us spin our wheels harder, trying to force it, only making it worse.  I chose to simply try again every year with varying levels of success and failure, attempting, every year, to accept what IS. Striving and releasing. Striving and releasing.

Will we all get it right one day?  Will there ever come a time when the afterglow of Christmas perfection lasts forever?  Is it even possible, in this broken world, to live, all year long, in the true Spirit of the biggest Christmas miracle which took place two thousand years ago?  

I don't know.  If it's possible, I haven't succeeded yet.  I haven't made it all year long constant in the Spirit.  But I won't stop trying.  All of the heartache is worth it for these moments and the Promise that one day God will wipe away every tear from my eyes.  Death, grief and pain will cease.  In the meantime, let's cherish these moments that Glow. 

2015 is nearly finished. I send love to you, from my home to yours, and Merry Christmas. To all a goodnight. Lets wake up, drink coffee, or your preferred start up drink, open your door, breathe fresh air, and carry this glow into December 26th.

Birthday Pie this Thanksgiving Eve

Is this a Thanksgiving pie?  No... and Yes.  It was my birthday pie in September.  I often prefer pie over cake to celebrate my birthday. Following the lead of my 2.5 year old, it transformed from birthday pie into a pie of thanksgiving in a moment of Holiness. ("And a little child shall lead them.")

How fitting, as my little child loves to pretend with magic wands and poof one thing into another thing, transforming the first thing into a second, more awe inspiring thing.  

With delight, and with the help of her Daddy, she placed a birthday pie in front of me.  I took a deep breath, ready to blow out my candles, then paused... "Ummm, I don't know what to wish for!" I said dramatically, for her sake, yet sincerely asking the question in my own heart.  I continued aloud, "In recent years I wished for Samantha. Then I wished for Annabelle.  But I have both Samantha and Annabelle now and I don't know what to wish for now..."  A loaded silence filled the room, Chris, Kellie and Bryce, all witnesses to this scene.

Samantha stared at me thoughtfully for a minute. Then, with an air of sweetness and confidence that only a child can possess, she said, "You have to say thank you."

Jaws all around the room fell open.  Kellie sucked in the dramatic intake of breath representing the awe everyone felt.

I paused for a moment, my flesh struggling for only an instant.  "Do I give up my only opportunity all year to choose one important request in the presence of Whoever makes birthday wishes come true?" I silently asked my heart.  In the next instant, I smiled, the answer peaceful, obvious and wonderful, filling my soul.  "Yes, I said aloud, "My wish, this year, is to simply say Thank You."

And I blew out the candles.

The candle of  want:  GONE... "the Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want."

The candle of  worry:  GONE... "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters." ("Be still and know that I am God.")

The candle of  work:  GONE... "He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake."  

The candle of  fear:  GONE... "Yes, even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.  Your rod and staff, they comfort me. 

The candle of  hunger, sickness and thirst:  GONE... "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil.  My cup runs over."

The guiding light of all five candles, gone cold.  Warm darkness envelopes. 

The New Candle, visible only to the Eye of my Soul, comes into focus.  This eye opens, awakens, welcoming my 37th year of life.

Everyday Glory

My last post was about the importance of the present moment.  Today I want to talk about the sheer joy of having eyes to see something Holy and special in the plain and simple.  We are having one of those moments right now at our house.  Actually, a whole day filled with those moments.  I don't think I would have seen all of this today if I had not been staying present first.

After playing together for a while, we began to play separately.  My almost-3-year-old wandered off and returned to create the above scene.  It could be hard to see something special in the greater context of this general mess...  I could have focused on all the work she and I will have to do to straighten this later.  I could have let it make me feel tired and overwhelmed.

I also could have focused on the fact that she was playing with my electric candles from the bathroom.  I could have been bothered by her "messing" with my stuff.

Instead, it occurred to me that this moment was Holy.  As my worship music played in the background on my I-Phone, she was following my lead, in her own way, entering into the spirit of the moment.  I was offering my own gift of love to God, giving Him attention in the middle of my day and my own mess.  Music is my fastest doorway to seeing the Presence of God all around me.  She was entering the spirit of the moment in her own way, bringing gifts to present to me and her sister. 

I'm so glad I saw this moment and accepted it.  I took the candle-toy creation she offered.  We each held our own candle-toy creation up and offered it to the Lord.  Our typical morning worship through song became multi layered and even more beautiful with Samantha's added offering.  Annabelle, three months old, too small to hold anything, but there was a candle in front of her nonetheless.

Some people do Advent candles during the holidays.  Occasionally I've thought of participating.  I might not feel the need to do it this year.  My heart is full of these candles and this moment.  It may just carry me through the next two months without the time, energy and thought it takes to intentionally create traditions.  It's a good time for me to be unburdened by traditions.  A time when it's taking most of my energy to sustain the life of a three month old and attend the needs of an energetic little girl.

I wish each one of you had been here to experience this moment with us.  But we are here and you are there.  At your desk, at a stop light, on your couch, in a waiting room, you name it... wherever you are, I'm calling you, drawing you in through the Internet, to join me.  What moment are you experiencing right now?  If you are feeling uninspired and cynical, stop everything you are doing for 3 minutes.  No matter how important your current task is.  Especially if you current task is important!  Stop everything for 3 minutes and ask Him to open your eyes and your heart.

Letter to the Woman Who Wants My Life

I wrote the following letter to an actual woman in my life.  She and I have had many conversations over the last few weeks about her longing for a baby.  I've shared many thoughts that she finds helpful in her attempt to wait patiently without succumbing to depression, but ultimately, I can't fix this struggle for her.  It's a battle she will face repeatedly, as we all do, and wrestle with on her own and find her own way through it.  But my heart goes out to her.  I was in her shoes for 10 years of waiting and wanting a baby.  I want to try to ease her burden as much as I can. I communicate my heart best through writing, so I put these words to paper for her and for all the women in her shoes I've talked to over the last 10 years.

I also wrote it for myself.  I wrote it to help me remember not to look back with longing to my former life without children, or look forward to my future life when they are grown, but to live in the present moment, fully thankful, fully joyful, fully fulfilled. This truth applies to every person, in every situation, in all walks of life.

Dear Friend, Sister, Colleague, and Woman passing me in Walmart,

You see me and you desire what I have.  I'm not going to lie.  My life is blessed.  It's not wrong to desire what I have.  I have two adorable little girls who offer joy every day, whether I see it and enjoy it or not.  I want you to have what I have.  Children are a delight.  My life is charming in so many ways.  I have a roof over my head, food on my table and three people in my household who love me, not to mention your love for me and the love I feel from at least a hundred friends around the world.

You see me and desire what I have, and it's hard for you to grasp why my life is so challenging for me at times. You can't fathom why I would have any reason to curl up in a ball on the closet floor occasionally and cry my heart out just exactly like you do occasionally.

You see me and desire what I have, so I'm going to try to paint a better picture of exactly what it is I have.....

I am 150% thankful for this life and the babies in it.  I wouldn't change a thing. The reason I am agonized, at times, is because I have a high standard for wanting to live my life to the best of my ability and do a good job with what I have been given. I want to fully enjoy my babies while they are little before it's too late and I don't want to waste a minute.  It stresses me out every time a well meaning stranger says in passing, "Enjoy every minute... they grow up too fast."  I do have many glorious moments of enjoying them. But it's just not humanly possible for every moment to feel glorious. Many times the exhaustion is overwhelming and it's not possible to fully appreciate the babies in those moments. This reality is a grief to me, but nothing can be done about it. This is the plight of motherhood. The act of being a mother is primarily a sacrificial gift of love. Love for the children you are raising and love for all the people who will be blessed by them. God's primary purpose in giving us children is not for personal gratification. However, for mothers who are blessed with wisdom and vision, those mothers can see that it is more blessed to give than to receive. This is the truth that can sustain us in the many, many hard moments. Yes, there are many.

Yet, fortunately, there are also many moments of sheer delight and joy and personal fulfillment in the act of being a mother. It's an added bonus.

I'm an idealist, so I have unrealistic expectations that tell me that if I am doing everything correct, and am the best mother I can be, all moments will feel glorious and wonderful at all times. This is just not true. I know you are an idealist too, so I know you are likely to face this same challenge when you become a mother.

In those moments when things are HARD, I feel guilty because they are hard. I make it EVEN MORE HARD on myself by thinking it's my fault and if I was just a better mother, this would be easier.  Certainly there are times when I make things harder than they need to be with my shortcomings. But there are plenty of times when I have the right attitude and I'm doing everything right and it is still just plain HARD.

When we are in a season of infertility or when we are intentionally waiting to have children, many of us women look at mothers with babies and we want their life, not because we are eager to sacrifice our lives for others, but because we think their life would be more fun than the life we are currently living. And when we hear that those mothers are struggling, we think that they must not be grateful enough for what they have. I admit, certainly there's the occasional ungrateful mother out there, but I highly suspect that most mothers are like me..... SO grateful that they want to do the best job possible and they are beating themselves up trying to do just that. And if you're a good mom, you are going to do the same thing when it's your turn.

So try to stop beating yourself up now, thinking your life isn't full enough now. Try to see your life now and your future life raising babies, not as two separate lives, but as one life.  If babies are in your future, you are already making sacrifices for those babies right now and preparing yourself to be a better mother when they come.  The life experiences you are living now are preparing you for whatever unique challenges you will face in your own private walk as a mother. If you get used to and embrace sacrifice now, it won't be as rude an awakening when sacrifice is an unavoidable reality during motherhood.

So please continue to dream, continue to look forward to the arrival of a baby.  Don't shut your emotions off to protect yourself from the pain of waiting, as I did.  Keep longing, keep desiring, keep waiting so that when your dreams finally do come true, you will be open, ready and excited to receive.  But wait with more awareness of what lies ahead, both the joy and the heartache.  Enjoy your current season of life so that you don't look back and feel you wasted it by pining away for the future.  I have to do the same thing right now.  I have to discipline my mind regularly, telling it to stay in the present moment and not pine away for a future of grown children that will come all too quickly.  If you learn to stay in the present moment now, you'll be better prepared to stay in the present moment and enjoy as much as possible when your glorious babies do come.

This truth applies to every person, in all situations, in all walks of life.

If you experience pain, are you in sin?

I've been waiting, these last few months, for a serious topic to grab my attention... something bigger for us to discuss than bubble blankets.

Yesterday a topic sparked my passion.  I was reading through a string of comments on Facebook, many lovely women weighing in on the heated and heartfelt topic of childbirth.  It was the comment of one woman in particular that caught my attention.  She told us that her births were pain free and it was because Christ has reversed the curse placed on mankind.  She told us that because she believes this idea and has faith in it, she is able to exercise authority over her body and tell it what to do and therefore experience no pain.

This prompted a new string of comments, some throwing unnecessary, strong accusations at the well-intentioned woman and others revealed that her comments hurt them as it suggested their own painful labors were due to lack of faith.

This woman has touched on a very large theological debate that exists within Christianity.  People falling on either side of this debate are all lovely people I would be privileged to call my friends.  I don't usually enter big theological arguments.  It doesn't usually interest me.  But this time the greater debate (see: "health, wealth and prosperity gospel") (see also: "word of faith movement") touched a topic that is near and dear to the heart of all women everywhere... childbirth. Feelings are getting hurt and I want to weigh in.  I want to offer peace to a few hearts.

I do believe this woman's story.  I believe she experienced a pain free birth and it may very well have been because she was gifted by God with the ability to relax and trust Him through the birth process. She may have been able to speak with authority to her body and expel fear and other things that sometimes get in the way of a beautiful birth experience.  A few women do get the chance to experience birth as God originally intended in His original design.  We should rejoice with these women and not begrudge them their beautiful experience.  We need to give them freedom to be different from us.

However, my hope is that women who have this experience, will also give the rest of us freedom to be different in return.  Allow us to experience pain without judgement.  God doesn't promise anyone a pain free birth or a pain free life.  In fact, He says that we WILL share in His sufferings, at times, and He will comfort our hearts through the pain. (2 Corinthians 1:5-7)

I am reminded of the story of a friend.  She told me her first birth was relatively easy and she thought she was super good at this birth thing.  Her second baby brought another story.  The mind blowing pain forced her to new levels of surrender in her walk with God.  The pain was completely out of her control and God used this experience to bring her to a new level of dependence on Him. She has been gifted with the understanding that a great many things are completely out of our control. An inspiring story.  This is where I desire to be at all times: experiencing new levels of surrender to my Creator.

Then there is my own birth story...  I have a high pain tolerance and I went to the hospital all excited for natural labor, having read books and talked to many experienced women, I was totally prepared for a beautiful experience.  As it turned out, I labored in great pain for 24 hours.  Eventually my baby was in distress and I had a c-section.  During the c-section the doctor finally saw the hidden culprit. My bone structure was too narrow.  My baby girl would never have passed through.  200 years ago, before c-sections, both my baby and I would have died.  God's gift to some women is pain free labors.  God's gift to me is c-sections with painful recoveries that are every bit worth the sacrifice of love.  

On that day, and many days following, I had the privilege to say to my daughter, "this is my body, broken for you."

Can we pray for pain free experiences?  Certainly.  Often God is pleased to rescue us.  At other times, He will walk with us through the pain, easing our suffering by being right next to us, coaching us all the way through it.  Both the pain-free experience and the pain-filled experience have the potential for powerful beauty.

Bubble Blanket - Ideas for Fighting Cold Winter Blues

If you've never hopped in the tub with your toddler and invented new things together, like this bubble blanket, you should definitely consider giving it a try.  

It's been a rough two days.  It's too cold outside to really enjoy playing outdoors.  There isn't any snow or anything else to entice us.  Samantha is fighting an ear infection and is throwing tantrums we've never seen from her til now.  This impromptu decision to hop in the bathtub together after naps was inspired.  The time of day that is usually our hardest (after nap time til dinner) turned magical and harmonious.

Here in our home, bubble blankets are the latest fad.  (The water is only up to her belly button.  The rest is bubbles.)