wonder
They see it in each snowflake and every twinkle light, they hear it in the note of each carol and the rustle of every piece of tissue paper. The wonder and excitement of it all. They thrill that Christmas is coming. They sing the tidings of His birth at the top of their lungs.
No wonder He tells us to come as little children. They don’t have to think twice—the wonder comes naturally to their trusting little hearts and minds.
All I can see is the to-do list and the tiredness, all I can hear is the noise and the clatter. Somewhere, somehow, I grew up and got so busy that it was more work than wonder.
Now I have to work hard to quiet my heart amidst the busyness of the season. I turn from the dishes to watch my little people twirl as they sing Christmas carols in the kitchen. I pause to turn on the Christmas lights then lift up the little guy who can’t see out the window. And before I know it, I’m singing those wonderful old carols as I work.
Hi Gretchen,
I can so identify with the sentiments of this post. Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. From the time I was a baby until I was about 7, I didn’t like Christmas all that much. The reason; for the first 7 years of my life, I always had an eye surgery right before Christmas, so I always associated Christmas with eye surgeries and all that goes with them. If someone mentioned Christmas, I would burst into tears. Fast forward to about 8 or 9, I started liking Christmas. Then somewhere along the line, I also grew up. I’m not even married, let alone close to being a mother, but lots of times, I see is the cleaning beforehand, all the extra work and stuff during the Holiday season, and then the cleanup afterwards. I see and hear the joy in my nephews’ and niece’s faces as they talk about Christmas coming. Like your girls, they too anticipate the season with joy, but for me time seems to go so fast that I probably don’t look forward to Christmas as I should. However, if I allow myself to get quiet, I also get caught up in singing the Christmas carols from days gone by.
Thanks for sharing!
Blessings!
Bethany
Lovely, Gretchen! I’m saving this to reread and ponder.
Beautiful post. “more work than wonder” is exactly how it feels some day! Loved this!
Found you through 5 Minute Friday.
Oh, I want to keep that type of innocence and wonder:)) My my heart quiet during this busy season so the wonder of Truth can settle deep.
Beautiful words!
Hi Gretchen
Good for you to sing along! We do grow up to fast, BUT I am so very grateful that our Pappa God loves to to transform our hearts to childlikeness when we come to Him and then we again behold His beauty, singing His praises!
Much love
Mia
Lovely post, Gretchen. Yes, I love how God uses our children to lift our spirits to re-wonder and sing! Thanks for blessing me today with your words.
So true… the to do lists, the crazy December schedule… but not the little ones. Such an insightful post! Glad I stopped in from FMF!! Have a blessed weekend 馃檪