Tag: God

Christmas Morning

Posted on by dearchild2019

Dear Child,

I think my very favourite time of year is Christmas morning.

It’s the one day of the year when the big kids don’t mind that I wake them up at 6am, and they are quick to jump out of bed, grab the coffee that is already waiting for them, and head down to sit beside the Christmas tree, next to the little ones who were up even earlier and who patiently waited for 6am to come.

Christmas has always been a special time for me.  Even when I was a little girl, there was nothing better.  The anticipation was real – the days of December dragging on as it felt like the big day would never arrive.  And then suddenly it was here and underneath the tree was filled with presents from Santa and our house was filled with family.  Family that I saw all the time anyway, but this time it was different.   I was pulled into even more hugs as the magical feeling of Christmas swept through everyone’s hearts, causing us to want to show more appreciation and love. 

I’ve always tried to make sure that Jesus was talked about more than Santa in our house.  It was important to me that you all knew the real reason of why we were celebrating. 

I never had any of you write letters to Santa, instead we would just be grateful for anything he wanted to bring us.  We still went to visit him at the mall, or wherever he happened to be passing through, and had a picture taken with him that we could keep.  Usually while we were standing in line, though, you’d be trying to think of something you could ask for, in anticipation of the question we all knew was coming.

Colton was in Beavers when he was small and one year they planned a trip to the dollar store where the kids could buy gifts.  I thought this was a brilliant idea and from then on, every Christmas I would have you all sit down and write a list of the people you wanted to buy a Christmas gift for.  Then we would take our list to the dollar store.  You all felt very grown up, with your own cart, as you walked up and down the aisles, looking for the perfect gift.  Then your special purchases would be brought home, wrapped and put under the tree.  Watching you give a gift, and seeing the eagerness on your face as you watched the recipient unwrap it, was more than enough proof that true joy comes from the giving at Christmas time, rather than the getting.

Keenan’s gifts to everyone this year were Christmas socks.  Easy peasy.  He did, however, carefully select which Christmas socks to give each person and he loved watching them be unwrapped.

You, however, carefully selected a gift you thought would be perfect for each person based on their individual taste.  Make-up sponges for Cassie, nail polish for Colton’s girlfriend Camryn, chocolate treats for Colton and hand warmers for Cassie’s boyfriend Jarred.  For Keenan, you purchased a ceramic statue of his favourite Paw Patrol character, Chase, that he could paint.  And Daddy got a little mini flashlight in his favourite colour – blue.  You learned to wrap presents this year and took special pride in doing that yourself.  Everyone loved their gift and you were thrilled.

Keenan spent a long time carefully painting his favourite character.

I got an even better gift though -a calendar you had carefully worked on at school for weeks, drawing pictures for each month and circling the most important days of the year – everyone’s birthdays.  It will hang by my desk so I can see it all the time.

I know it’s just one morning.  And I know that months of preparation go into making it as special as possible.  List after list is carefully created and items are constantly being checked off, as I try to think of everything that needs to be done in order to make it the most wonderful time of the year.  The tree and decorations go up the day after Remembrance Day and the baking is started shortly after that as well.  I do my best to make sure the gifts are all bought by Dec 1st and the wrapping is done shortly after.

It’s important to me that I enjoy the season, and I can’t do that if I’m stressed about getting everything done.   But once the presents are all wrapped and piled beneath the tree, then there is time to sit, with a cup of tea, and just relax, admiring the glow of lights from the Christmas tree and marveling at the journey Mary and Joseph took to Bethlehem, before the incredible birth of Jesus.  I’m sure they experienced times of stress, uncertainty and doubt along the way, the same as we do in our daily lives, but they relied on their faith to carry them through, and they brought forth the greatest miracle the world has ever known.

So, yes, it’s months of preparation that go into that one morning.  But it’s the morning. 

And as I sit back and watch the smiles as you all dig into your stockings, surprised at the different treasures every year, and I watch you eagerly give gifts to each other, I know there is no better way to spend this morning.  This wonderful morning –  where love is so strongly felt and where daily hugs are replaced by those more magical, Christmas-time hugs, as we remember that night long, long ago, when our Saviour was born.

Love Mom

xoxo

Re-Evaluating Priorities

Posted on by dearchild2019

Dear Child,

A couple years ago the Manager position for my team at work became available and I wanted it.  As the Supervisor directly below this position, I knew I was capable and my work was respected.  I applied for the position.

I didn’t have all of the qualifications they were looking for, though, since our company was in the midst of growing globally and my experience was limited to Canada.  I told the Director, to whom I was now reporting since the Manager position was vacant, that I was interested in the position, and that I would learn everything I needed in order to do the job.

Interviews were conducted and the company decided to go with someone who had more experience than me.  I still remember being called into the Director’s office as she broke the news to me.  I told her I would be more than happy to learn everything I could from the person they selected.

But inside, I was extremely disappointed. 

I knew I could do the job.  In fact, I had been doing the job for a long time since the previous manager had passed many of her responsibilities on to me.  I knew it would be hard to have someone new come in and take the position I desperately wanted, but I also knew that I should keep an open mind and be respectful.

In working through my disappointment, I began to re-evaluate my life and my priorities.  I had put a lot of stock into getting this job, and with that gone now, I felt a little bit lost.

For most of my life, I had volunteered.  When I was thirteen years old, I volunteered at the local hospital.  And then at sixteen, I taught Children’s Liturgy for my Church and also served on the Parish Council.  As an adult, I volunteered at the school in both your and Colton’s classrooms, I was on the Parent Council and again taught Children’s Liturgy for the Church.  

But now, I wasn’t volunteering anywhere.

I realized that my priorities had become skewed, and I had selfishly been concentrating on only my own needs, instead of following what the Bible tells us – that by helping others, all of your own needs will be taken care of.

I felt I needed to take the emphasis off of my work and move it onto my life.

I made the decision to help anywhere I could find an opportunity. 

I didn’t have to look any further than our Church bulletin.  I’d noticed a posting to help with the record keeping for the Church’s Cemetery in the bulletin for a few months now.  Taking this as a sign, I called and inquired if the position was still available.  It was, and the person who was currently doing this role lived on my road.  We got together to talk about the responsibility, and I agreed to take this on.

After that, I signed up for everything.  Within a month, I had added teaching Children’s Liturgy, volunteering at the Breakfast Club at the school and organizing the Warm Woolies program for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, whereby I delivered hand knitted hats and mitts to the local schools.

I met so many wonderful people, and the experiences enriched my life in so many ways.  For one, I had been going to this Church for a few years now, but hadn’t really made any friends.  Now I knew so many people.  Same thing for the school.  The world was opening up to me simply because I had offered to help.

I had asked God to help me find my path and not only had He presented these opportunities to me, but He continued to bless me in so many other ways as well.

Three months later, I was once again called into the Director’s office.  The new manager they had hired wasn’t working out and had just quit.

I will never forget the words she said next:

“I made a mistake.  I should have offered you the job in the first place.”

I smiled.

God’s perfect plans are always so easy to see in hindsight.  I knew this had happened exactly as it should have.  If I hadn’t been turned down, I would never have re-evaluated my life, I would not have asked God to provide me with opportunities to volunteer, or met any of the wonderful people I now call good friends.

Sometimes the best thing God does for us, is NOT answer our prayers.  And it’s always because He has something better in store for us.

Relax, and trust God that everything will work out as it should.

Love Mom

xoxo

The Accident

Posted on by dearchild2019

Dear Child,

It was the call every parent hopes they never get.  Especially parents of seventeen year old boys who have only had their license for a short time.

“Mom?” the caller asked.  I bolted up in bed when my cell phone rang at 3am, but my groggy brain struggled…it was a girl’s voice, but I knew it wasn’t Cassie…was it a wrong number, hopefully?

“Mom,” she said again, “we were in an accident.”

Noooooooo….my chest tightened as I realized this was no wrong number.  But why was your girlfriend calling?  Why couldn’t you call?  “Where’s Colton? Is he okay?” I asked.  I had already started praying.

“He’s okay.  They think he broke a bone.  We just got to the hospital.  The ambulance brought us.”

“I’ll be right there.”

All you’d ever wanted was your license.  From the time you figured out that’s what was keeping you from being able to drive, turning 16 was all you cared about.  Every birthday I’d say “You’re X years old today!” and you’d moan, “Yeah, but I’m not sixteen.”

Chris worked on a bathroom renovation one winter and the customer gave him a dented BMW in exchange.  His intention was to fix it up and sell it, only there was never any time to devote to this project.  After looking at it sit in our driveway for almost two years, I had an idea.  You were fifteen at the time and you tinkered with anything from RC cars to bicycles to go-carts to lawnmowers.  How awesome would it be if you could spend your time fixing up this car?

You were beyond thrilled hearing this but you wouldn’t let yourself believe it was true until Chris agreed it was a good idea, too.  He knew he’d never find the time to work on that car and agreed that it would be a great project for you. 

You were already working part time on the parts counter at Canadian Tire by now so you had money to invest in fixing your car.  You ordered a door right away.  You spent every hour you weren’t at work or school working on that car.  I saw you encounter problems you’d never heard of before and then spend hours researching before solving each and every issue.  You learned so much.  And you had so much to be proud of. 

When you finally got your license, the car was ready.  Every seventeen year old boy’s dream is to drive their own car and driving one you that had poured your blood and sweat into, made it even sweeter.

Fast forward to two weeks later – the night of the accident.

I set the phone down and grabbed my nearby pair of stretchy capri pants.  I pulled the huge elastic waistband over my eight and a half month pregnant belly with shaking hands.  “I’ll text you when I know something.” I told Chris as I tucked my phone into my purse and rushed out into the muggy, dark night.

I’ve thanked God for many things over the years but if you total up every thank you I’ve ever said, you can bet that I matched that number on my drive to town.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” I repeated over and over again, “Thank you, God, for not taking my son from me.”

The 20 minute drive took forever.  Until I could lay my eyes on you and see for myself that you were okay, the pit of anxiety that had found its home in my chest would not go away.

I ran into emerg, barely stopping by registration, only saying “My son’s in there.” as I hurried by.  The woman nodded.

I found you laying on a hospital bed.  Your face was filthy and your hair was filled with dirt.   I tried to shake some of the grit from your hair but there was just too much.  My baby.  I forced back tears.

You looked at me with tears in your own eyes, “I wrecked my car.”  I nodded.

Throughout the rest of the night as the doctor and nurses set and casted your broken arm, you moaned about your car.  Over a year’s worth of work gone.  The car had rolled several times before hitting a hydro pole.  You and your girlfriend were lucky to be alive.


I continued to thank God that all you did was break your arm. 

The next few months were hard for you.  Luckily your arm healed quickly but there were many frustrating days as we struggled to tape garbage bags over your cast so you could shower.  You had accepted a position in the garage at Canadian Tire and you were determined to work, despite only having one arm.  Lifting tires was no easy feat with one good arm and one casted one. 

But you did it. 

Your determination was incredible, as it is with anything you put your mind to.

And there’s been many vehicles since then.  Even another BMW almost exactly like the first one.

As for me, I still like it best when your vehicle is parked in our driveway and I know you are at home.  But there’s no fun in that.  So I’ll continue to thank God every night when you come home safe to me.

Love Mom

xoxo