My heart doesn't feel ready, yet everywhere I look whether I'm ready or not, there is evidence of Christmas being just around the corner. I do love Christmas yet simultaneously it is also a super busy time of year. It kind of seems opposite to how it really should be. Christmas should be about Christ's birth, that's it!!!! But our culture (me included) has made it about almost everything else except for the celebration of our Saviour's birthday!
EVERY black Friday I join the crowds and do most of my Christmas shopping (and actually Birthday shopping for the kids as well, for the entire year). I'm not one of those wait in lines for hours type of person though, I usually hit Target about 6AM Friday morning and shop about half of the day. One of these years I'm expecting to regret going, but honestly I'm such a SALES/clearance/second hand buyer that it's worth it every time. The deals are sooooooooooooooooooooo good, and when you are raising seven kids every penny and/or dollars, as is the case on Black Friday counts. I also like getting most of my shopping done in one day as I'm really not one of those people who loves shopping. Although I do have to say that I love on line shopping!
On black Friday, I usually am the person smiling at everyone, as clearly some people did not hit the stores with their happy hearts. It doesn't bother me though, as I also like to think of it as a break as I'm usually with a girlfriend or with Sam (a HUGE THANK YOU to my in-laws who were here this year and Sam and I hit the stores making a date out of Black Friday). The kids are so cute, they all know what Black Friday is and how mom goes shopping. This year Kody and Jase were talking about how I used to go shopping with my best friend Abbey who moved far away. Abbey is a dear friend who is like a sister to me who I used to live out my life with. We actually used to do lots of things together, including celebrate thanksgiving together - so I can't help it but when I think of Black Friday I think of her. I miss her dearly but I know she is exactly where she is supposed to be (she moved to be close to family). Here is a picture from a few years ago on Thanksgiving ... yep we had lots of adventures together :)
Another good thing about going shopping on Black Friday is that it reminds me to keep things SIMPLE and how this is really the desire of my heart. I know this seems like an oxymoron, Black Friday and simplicity. Yet it is in watching those around me do just the opposite, that it so convicts my heart and reminds me of what I want to be about. I say this without judgement, as this is something I feel like I'm daily still working on. This is a conviction that runs deep, and one that I have to intentionally work against as well as it feels like a defining trait of our culture is "excess." This is how we "try" to live our life, even when buying Christmas and birthday presents for seven kids.
Whenever I think about this conviction and life value that God has so carved on my heart, my thoughts immediately go to our first trip to Ghana. We had travelled to many countries before we went to Ghana and we had been exposed to poverty repeatedly but for some reason visiting Northern Ghana changed me and my heart. Words cannot adequately begin to describe what we saw nor how we felt. Pictures describe it better!
We have SO MUCH. I know for some of us sometimes it doesn't feel like it, when we look around and compare ourselves to others within our own cultures. This sometimes honestly comes up for Sam and I, as raising seven kids requires a lot of resources as everything is multiplied by seven. Don't mistake my comment as complaining, as I am not. Although I'm not living the life I planned, I AM LIVING THE LIFE I WANT. I feel so extremely BLESSED which I mean genuinely with an enormous amount of humility and gratitude. So when Sam and I are counting our pennies, it only takes a minute of discussion and our hearts are changed as we realize very quickly HOW MUCH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN!!!
We have food to feed our children. We have clothes to clothe our children. We have a house full of furniture which includes beds for everyone, to be safe in. We have clean water, that runs out of a tap, and that can either be cold or hot. We have heat all year round, and we never have to worry about being cold. We have warm coats, comfortable shoes, and even snow boots and snow gear for when it is really cold. All of our children get to go to school, there not being one obstacle to keep them from going. The list goes on and on, and is so profound and worth really thinking about.
Luke 12:48
"To whom much is given, much is required," I believe God is speaking to all of us as He has given each one of us SO much!
My heart prayer for this Christmas season is to keep things simple, and to keep the focus on the whole reason for the season - JESUS!! I hope and pray this is your heart's prayer as well!
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