Christmas Countdown 2013 <3 Day 23

We have one family celebration tucked in our treasure box of memories and one yet to come. We have the gifts purchased and all but a few wrapped. All the decorating is done. The cards are sent.

There is a peace that comes when all the parts of preparation that matter to me are completed. Now I am like a little child, waiting for the delivering of gifts to my girlfriends, attending the last service on Christmas Eve and holding those candles that drop hot wax on your hands through the little paper holder while the die-hard 10:00 PM faithfuls sing Silent Night, Christmas morning with Russ and John, and later in the day another Christmas celebration with Rachel, Zach, Graham and Emmett. Sigh….

Oh sure, I am scheduled to work today and tomorrow, but there is a peace and Joy that makes even that seem like fun.

At this point, it is like the scene in A Christmas Carol when old Fezziwig turns the barn into a party. I am filled full of the joy of Christmas and it is just spilling out all over.

And so in my quiet time this morning, my current memory verse stands out as a reminder for when this happy feeling passes into the reality of January.

Notice that David didn’t say he would have lost heart unless he had SEEN the goodness of the Lord. No, it is because he BELIEVED he would SEE the goodness of the Lord that kept him from losing heart.

When the glow of “Christmas” fades out there in a world that never really celebrated and received the Christ, it is important to believe that I will see His goodness.

What do you believe in this Christmas season?

May God bless you as you gather with friends and family, but may you be most blessed at the foot of the Cross, where surely you will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living and for eternity <3