Letter to Santa?

The lights blaze outside my windows...of polar bears, deer, presents, lighted trees and Frosty, of course. The house is quiet except for the familiar words coming from It's a Wonderful Life on the television.  All the children and grandchildren are elsewhere with last minute celebrations before the big night, but my thoughts are with them during this wonderful celebration we call Christmas.

Peace reigns in my soul and the moment turns to wonderment of my numerous blessings.  Who can say why one who deserves the least is blessed with more.  

Grandson Caleb writes his letter to Santa asking him to pray every day.  He's seven.  He's blessed. He can teach us all something, can he not?

I read of a child whose cancer led to a liver transplant.  Her name is Gabbi.  Now, with complications following the transplant, our awesome God is being deluged with prayer requests to intervene, to provide the solution needed for this child, to grant this miracle so desperately wanted and needed...all the while acknowledging and accepting the supremacy of God and knowing His plan for all of us is far better than anything we could devise and trusting in His love and comfort.

This night of peace, reminding us of the birth of our Saviour, can be overcome with fear and anxiety when life intrudes, when the brightness of our lights dim with uncertainty and the inability to dictate the terms of our lives.

I cry with the beauty of my peace because I cannot share it with those who grieve or live with distress this night.  I can only offer my prayers to the one who can give the comfort and peace each soul craves.   

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. ~ Psalm 18:2

Ornament of My Life

My Christmas tree is loaded with a variety of ornaments, some new and some old, some silly and some works of art.  It is a hodge-podge mixture that pleases me because it is familiar and comfortable.  Gazing at the ornaments brings memories, feelings...emotions.

Christmas can be the most joyful or most depressing holiday.  Joy can be riding high but brought low immediately by a change in circumstances - two grandchildren having RSV means that family will be absent for our family gathering!  - Reading a story or watching a video brings tears...but of happiness.  The mood that follows is influenced by the emotions cruising through the body and mind.  

Whatever emotion is prevalent today dictates the manner in which other people are addressed, listened to or tolerated.  Pain brings on its own set of emotions demanding tremendous effort to overcome.

Emotions rule...don't they?  If everything we think, touch or feel is affected by our emotions, the outcome is directly related to some particular need of my soul that very hour.  Perhaps the trick is to identify the emotional source and separate it from actual happenings in life. 

Emotions are likened to fuels.  Producing the right response to someone hurting or in need is appropriate and welcomed.  Emotional outbursts of indignation or temper suggest an unhealthy fixation on one's self and satisfying the constant urging of self-pleasure and self-interests...all to the exclusion of other people and things.  

Emotions can dim judgment, skew factual consideration and crowd out healthier thoughts.  Emotions should fuel our lives, not steer it!

The Christian is one who bases his whole confidence in God and His work of grace, then the emotions 

become the beautiful ornament of the life, not the source of it. ~ Oswald Chambers

Today, my tree of ornaments and hopefully, every facet of my life is ruled by the light of this world.  I can see, feel, touch, think nothing without God's influence because my confidence, my trust, my purpose lies with Him.  

Not all the ornaments on my tree represent growth or maturity.  But when I choose to look upon them through the grace of God, I see them differently and my emotion is always joy!