The Third Christmas Came with Grace

The grace of God will infuse you with joy despite your apathetic feelings about life. The grace of God will give you perseverance as you deal with chronic health issues. The grace of God will sustain you when you feel completely and utterly hopeless. The grace of God will provide everything that you need whenever you are lacking. The grace of God will usher in your greatest comfort in times of loss and sorrows.  The grace of God will pour in strength into you when you feel completely helpless.  The grace of God will help you to fulfill your calling even in the midst of your trials.

I'm talking about the same grace that saved you from a life doomed to hell. God is able to make us sufficient in all things by the power of His grace. II Cor 9:8

If you have followed this blog or read my post "Not this Christmas" you will have a bit of insight as to why the holiday seasons are still a bit rough for me. And this post is not meant to be a "woe is me" post. It is meant to give you a glimpse into how God's grace continues to enable me to do the things that are necessary in life. And how His grace has again helped me to find the pleasure in family gatherings. It is to share how I avoided naming this post "Not This Year, Either".

We all have our share of difficulties, trials, temptations and the like. These things came with the sin of Eve and Adam. They are an inevitable part of life. The events themselves leave wounds and when healed, scars. As with scars upon one's skin, careful attention and time will fade their appearance. So, that's really what this post is about; how this third Christmas without my little sister, came to be a joyous occasion.

The Thanksgiving holiday came and went with very little notice. I had to work. Sister wasn't much on hosting. The nephew #1 had alternate plans with his wife and in-laws. And nephew #2 was unavailable to attend. So, we each texted the others with the obligatory "Happy Thanksgiving" message. Without a Thanksgiving gathering, we would have to set aside another time to discuss Christmas plans. 

Two weeks into December and we still had not decided on date, time, nor menu. Then three days before Christmas, we hatched a plan to gather together. Each brought goodies to eat and presents to exchange. While I hoped that we would do more than just go through the motions, I didn't expect the grace that came after the meal.

Number 1 nephew & his wife had chosen a gift for my sister, that essentially became a fun family project for all of us. It was a gingerbread house kit. We divided the contents and started on the houses. No one took time to look at the instructions. What ensued was sheer chaos.... and lots of laughter. Three different houses being built according to three different processes. One started with the walls. Another started with the decorations. And my husband just let me make a great big mess of ours. Each person tried to give advice to the others on how to make it work.

Sticky icing on everything. Decorative pieces stuck everywhere except where they should have been placed. Each house as it was raised, but then promptly came tumbling down. I finally took all of our pieces and sandwiched them together with the icing. Then, proudly proclaimed "done. It is a condo for the ants". The reaction from the galley included all sorts of comments, but mostly laughter.

We seemed to savor the moments like enjoying a bite of granny's chocolate pie. There was even a few seconds of silence here and there. Then we all pitched in and cleaned up the mess, tidied the kitchen, and prepared to go home. 

Hugs all around and a lot of "I love you" was said. Goodies in hand, we each went to our own homes. Days later, we were still talking about those gingerbread concoctions and the laughter that lightened our hearts.

Truly God's grace is the perfect addition to every occasion.