Yes, time has flown by without a blog from me... Not that I have any followers at this point, this is more for me than for anyone else. :-)
It is now Christmas time. All the decorations are out. It is a festive time of the year. Time to remember Christ and His selfless giving of Himself, leaving His throne to come to earth for me. For you.
I am also looking forward to the wedding of my oldest son in two weeks. I am so proud of him. I love his fiance. It is a happy time.
In the midst of pure joy, there is sorrow, sadness, need, etc... My husband's mother may not make it to Christmas. She is in I.C.U. again and again we are told she may not make it. Odds are against her.
My sister in law's husband left her again. Left her for someone whom he has now fathered another child while he was married to my sister in law. He left her with a 21 year old son who is a drug addict and a daughter going to college and a son who is only 12 years old. Her old car is dead. Resuscitating it will be costly. She has no one to help her, but us and our prayers to our heavenly Father. My husband is doing his best to take care of his mom and his sister and his family too. The oldest boy left a drug rehab and has a court date in January. He will probably be put in jail. In fact, she may have to kick him out before Christmas as he is flaunting his behavior in front of his siblings. He is a boy in a man's body who was hurt deeply by his dad. I hope it is not too late for him to see what he is doing and change. For himself and for his family. Her daughter has seen too much and has been so hurt by her dad. She told him one day that if he wanted to be in her wedding someday and be a part of her life that he would have to straighten out his life. He told her he did not want to walk her down the isle anyway. She is a very intelligent girl and is going to college to be a nurse. She is working part time at a retail store that she is able to walk to. It will be raining the next week. The youngest is a sweet one. He takes everything in stride. There will be no Christmas presents for this family. If I had the money I would help, but we too cannot afford gifts this year with a wedding that will be costly and a possible funeral to pay for. That is okay for us as my boys are older and just want the family time and presents are not needed, but for a suffering family like my sister in law's family it is sad. And my sister in law... well, she is so engrossed in her pain that she is unable to comfort her children. She takes a lot of antidepressants and when she is not at work she is asleep. And work... well, if she doesn't get the car fixed soon she will lose her job, which by the way, is an hour away. Too far to ask someone regularly to drive you.
And then there is the possibility that my husband's mom will not make it. During the wedding? Before? After? Who will pay for a funeral? They paid for life insurance all their life... until Mom was in the hospital a few years ago and dad was paying the bills... and we did not know he was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. He forgot to pay the life insurance. He died last year. We had to take the money out of our retirement to take him from CA to TX for the burial, which is what they wanted. My husband's brother and sister had no money to help. Still don't.
So... all this on a pastor's pay. When I get to feeling overwhelmed I remember that nothing happens without God's allowing it to. Maybe to strengthen us, or to grow us, or because in the overall picture it is best for us. I believe this with all my heart. I will update you on what God does. You will see His hand in our time of need. I choose to enjoy as much of this Christmas as I can. I choose to enjoy my son's marriage. I choose to embrace troubles, knowing that God will get me through. I choose to help where I can, and not to feel bad when I cannot. It is all about choice, isn't it?
May God bless your Christmas celebrations with His love!
debbi
