I am sitting here today (the Monday before Christmas) in Metairie listening to Christmas music, burning a Yankee Candle (Mistletoe) with the lights burning on my little three foot tree waiting for my husband to come home from work (early I hope) so we can finish up a little shopping that needs to be done.
I have had some time today to reflect back on the last few weeks. I had so many plans for the holidays this year. I wanted it to be so much more about friends and family than anything else and more than ever before. I have never been one to enjoy entertaining, but this year this was all I wanted to do. I began the week of Thanksgiving by preparing a seafood gumbo using an authentic Cajun recipe. We had my dad and step-mom over on Wednesday evening. The gumbo was a hit and we had a great visit with them.
Thanksgiving Day was spent at my mom’s. It was one of the best Thanksgivings I can remember. I can’t really pinpoint why, it just was! Everyone’s moods were uplifting and the food was wonderful. So we ate, we laughed, and truly enjoyed each other.
My mother- in- law's 70th birthday was on Thanksgiving Day this year. My sister-in-law and I had made plans to make it special for her. She (my sister-in-law) caught the swine flu and then got pneumonia. She was admitted to the hospital in the middle of November and ended up in ICU. Her condition became critical, so needless to say, everyone’s focus shifted to her. Thankfully she is home now and doing better. The birthday celebration had to be postponed.
I spent a good portion of my day on Friday at the hospital, giving my brother- in- law a break to go home and do some of the things he wanted or needed to.
On Saturday I put my Christmas tree up and decorated.
Sunday was the day we left for Metairie to attend the Saints vs. New England Patriots football game at the Superdome.
And the rest is history. (See blog entitled, “An 8 Day Recap”)
I had made many plans for when we returned home that included shopping, cooking, cleaning, decorating, and entertaining friends and family. A fractured rib changed my plans!
Last year I put up three trees and had planned on doing the same this year. The revised plan: My decorations are minimal. The tree I put up on the Saturday after Thanksgiving is it! I have boxes and boxes of decorations in my attic that have gone untouched and it's OK! I have been able to enjoy the few decorations I have out this year without once dreading the un-decorating.
I love to shop and always look forward to Christmas as the perfect excuse to do so. I enjoy the challenge of finding something that I think everyone will like and use. I put a lot of time and thought into each and every gift I purchase. My plan was to begin shopping right after Thanksgiving, to do so by myself, and to go during the beginning of each week to avoid the weekend crowds. The revised plan: I had to recruit my husband and son. And with their help, it is all done! It was rewarding for them to get to experience shopping for others. (Something they normally do not get to do because I have always done it all.) They especially enjoyed knowing they were doing something to help me. I also got to spend some quality time with my daughter that I may not have otherwise had as she chauffeured me around town one day to let me shop for my husband and son.
I had plans to celebrate my daughter’s birthday in Metairie. I intended on cleaning, decorating, and preparing the house for her and the rest of my family to come and spend the weekend with us as we celebrated her birthday together doing some fun things in the New Orleans area. The revised plan: I was still able to spend this weekend with them. We were able to do a few of the things I had planned, but more importantly I did not fret over cooking, cleaning, and decorating. These things (which are usually very important to me) did not matter. They took a backseat to what was really important: just spending time with my family.
All my plans to decorate, shop, clean, cook, and entertain came to a screeching halt. I know God has a sense of humor because He went to great lengths to keep me from the temptation of over doing it. Into the second week of my accident, when I probably would have pushed myself by going into town or going back to work, my car broke down! It is still in the shop being repaired.
I have had a tremendous amount of time over the past three weeks to rest; sit still; and do some things I may not have taken the time to do like watching Christmas movies, staring at the Christmas tree, but most importantly thinking about what this season is all about and mentally noting all the things I have to be thankful for. I do not take my blessings for granted. I have had time to think about how upset I can get when my plans get changed, but yet I am responsible for changing God’s plans everyday. He has plans to prosper me, to not harm me, and to give me hope and a future. Sometimes I get in the way of those plans. Through my selfishness, I miss out on so many blessings that He has planned for me.
Our plans change and that is OK, but His should never have to!
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
Merry Christmas! I hope you have made plans to take some time to reflect on Him this year!
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