Christmas Eve

Well, here it is, Christmas Eve. I have longed for this day and dreaded this day. You see, this was my deadline. All the crafts must be finished, house must be clean, hopefully a couple treats made and all the gifts wrapped. Well, in just over an hour I need to pick up a child from a friends' house and head off to the Christmas eve service at church, one of which I will attend, and one which I will teach preschoolers. I have come to the conclusion that with only an hour left, I need to spend it getting myself, Bubba and Squeeks ready, as well as dinner. That being said, my house will not be clean for Christmas and the pictures will all be shot in just the living room with careful placement as to not get the messy dining room or kitchen in the background. We will not be having many goodies except for the ones I made and ruined this morning or leftovers from the ones I delivered to Phil at work. Hopefully I will get the crafting finished tonight and of course the few randoms gifts needing wrapped will be finished.

All that being said, normally I would be freaking out and stressing over all that still "needs" done. Instead, I have realized that none of those things truly matter. My kids will not remember if our home was picked up and spotless each and every Christmas. My children will not care if mommy made really fun and exciting goodies every year. Will they even remember the many crafts I have spend countless hours on? Maybe, maybe not. Will these things make a difference as to if they remember this as a good Christmas or not? I don't think so. We have done a good job at teaching our children the true meaning of Christmas. They know that this is Jesus' birthday and that we only give gifts to symbolize the greatest gift that God has given to us. They know the Christmas story very well. No matter what small things seem to tarnish the holidays, the children just remember a time of spending time with family and at church.

While I would love to have the "ideal" Christmas each and every year, I know that is not possible. This year our Christmas is not ideal at all. However, what Mary endured so many years ago was not ideal either. She sure didn't bring that tiny baby into an environment that was what most would have wanted for their baby. However, it was good and perfect just as God had planned it. I know that even though my life lately has been crazy and tiring, it is still just as God has it planned. It is good and perfect. I know that this crazy time in life will be just a moment in time and that it will all seem to work itself out soon.