Christmas Cards

I am so very thankful for Christmas cards.

I haven’t sent any cards out from our own family for years and years.  I hate that I never do this.  I am so thankful to those who send one year after year even when we don’t reciprocate.  I simply love and anticipate each and every one.

As a former teacher, I remember years of making a bulletin board out of my collection by lining each one up side by side in a collage that displayed the creative artistry and message.  Those were days before family postcards.  But, what a beautiful assortment of family photos we’re now collecting, too.

It’s also been fun to cut some of them up in shapes and place each one in their own envelope for individual puzzle games. We race to put together the beautiful message of one friend for peace in our world.  We hurry to put together one family’s tidings of comfort and joy.  Wishes for miracles of Christmas joy comes from another.

For 200 years we have been sending and receiving traditional messages by mail during this holy season with snow covered churches, angels perched atop twinkling Christmas trees, a star illuminating the nativity and Jesus laying in a manger.

What a beautiful tradition.

What often comes through these cards is the light of hope and the sentiments of faith.

In fact, “There is a light of heaven that has broken upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and guide us to the the path of peace”.

Sometimes this light comes in the mailbox.

Luke 1:78-79

Calendar

My mom is keeping record of the number of months Dad has been gone on her calendar.

It’s been 10.  Ten months without seeing Dad.

It’s hard for me to want to recall that every month.

I’ve never gone this long without seeing my dad.  I can’t recall the longest I ever went without seeing him.  He tried to break this dependence early on when I was going off to college.  He told me to stay until Thanksgiving.  That’s only three months and I couldn’t do it.

Only 90 miles away and he’d send sweet Ziggy cards to ease his daughter’s pain.

It was an experience for my greater good.  That’s what discipline is, right?  The training effect of experience in an unfavorable circumstance.

Jesus says, “I’m the One who corrects and disciplines everyone I love.”  That’s what fathers do.

There seems no fun in the midst of all that, but there’s more delight in warmth after being cold. There’s more satisfaction in fullness after the pangs of emptiness.  It’s this joy that comes in the morning after the sufferable mourning.  But, there’s joy in the morning!  That’s all I need to know.

I don’t know how many more months Mom will mark her calendar.   There is no permanent calendar on this side of heaven.  We know there was an appointment on God’s calendar, though.  We’re all immortal until the day, month, and year that He records.

“This world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.”

We can be dependent on that.

Revelation 3:19

Hebrews 13:14

Psalm 30:5

Harvest

By an early November date, we have had our first frost in Kentucky.

It’s when our garden approaches its seasonal deep sleep.

For the first time ever, my husband and I had a flourishing and thriving garden.  And now it’s tired.  I know we are.

God wasn’t kidding when He said, “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat.”

What an illustration a garden is of this decree.

Cultivating a garden is plain hard work.  We have tried to just lay seeds, but it’s much more than that.  We learned protective measures had to be constructed and anchored down and all around.  It was important that the soil was tended to and amended. We determined a blood meal had to be added. And, don’t we know there’s power in the blood.  It’s all a mysterious process, but we trust, we wait and we have faith. 

We had to be careful, though.  There are a lot of artificial fixes that claim to be beneficial but they only prove to work for the short term and not over time.

Our garden’s real lifeline is a protective layering of mulch.  God’s natural resources basically uses what dies and decays and adds life to the seeds we plant. Signs of life emerge and the seed grows in the soil and the soil grows in the seed.    

What a dependent relationship!

Even after all that, sturdy structures secure the plants as they grow.  And as roots grow deeper and the plants grow bigger, the stronger our supports become.  A toppled plant is an unfortunate casualty without these systems.

Planting companions are a necessity and together the harvest is plentiful.

Of course, routine maintenance of weeds is always in order.  These troublemakers take advantage of unintentional neglect.  They grow with a fury to shade and choke out all potential for a promising bountiful harvest.  My poor watermelons.

I honestly, don’t know how we as humans have fruit and vegetables to put on the table. But I can tell you with time, prayer and a great deal of care, what is so diligently cultivated can actually yield a harvest.

With one feather-weight seed we gained a plant that returned more seeds than I could count. What a visible demonstration how God accomplishes infinitely more than we might ask or think.

“People have seen all that God made.  They can clearly see His invisible qualities. His eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks.”

Cultivating a garden grants a whole new meaning to experiencing gratitude for the harvest of the season.

The harvest is plentiful. The workers are few.

Genesis 3:19

Romans 1:20-21

Ephesians 3:20

Luke 8:11

Luke 10:2

Restoration

We all know what comes of caterpillars.

There’s a wondrous transformational process that births a beautiful butterfly that flits and flies and feeds on fluids to fertilize.

In the background we have our own metamorphosis.

We jokingly call it my husband’s masterpiece.

On this day last year something old was made new.

Restoration of it was a difficult process.  This project began with a foundation that was weak and cracked from years of neglect.  Not intentional neglect.  But, unfortunate circumstances kept away necessary attention. 

Time can take its toll as time can do and restoration needs to occur to make old things new.

We brought in all that we thought essential to rectify our problem, but instead the foundation proved to be too weak to carry the weight of it all.  In the process, it actually collapsed and a rescue operation ensued.  The problem area was excavated with stronger resources and a solid foundation had to be laid before anything else could be done. The surrounding area still needed work, too. 

Uncontrollable elements might make us wonder if restoration might ever occur.

Truth is, this surface was never perfectly created for the game that we often tried to play with its flawed dimensions.  We never could play as it was intended without changing the rules of that game.

But, you know what?

Restoration can establish a more perfect play.

Jesus does some teaching about building on a solid foundation.  He says, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise like a person who builds a house on solid rock. If not, it will fall with a mighty crash.”

What a metamorphosis that occurs with God!

It’s no joke.

We are His masterpiece.

“He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”

What a wondrous transformation restoration can be.

Ephesians 2:10

Matthew 7:24