2010 - The Year of the Do-Over

One of my grown children received a board game this past Christmas. I shook my head in delight as I listened to four of them gathered around the game laughing, plotting, and occasionally accusing someone of "playing by a different set of rules." It reminded me of those family games long ago of "Chutes and Ladders", "Pretty, Pretty Princess", "Monopoly" or outside games like "Horse" and "21". The one "constant" in almost every game was at some point something would go wrong. The dice would roll off the table or the basketball would hit a rock in the driveway, the youngest child would trip into whatever game board, or some other mishap would occur. The words "I get a do-over" would be yelled immediately. At that point some discussion as to whether the offense merited a "do-over" would take place. If the mishap was legitimate - the "do-over" was granted. However, if the request was made simply because the player did not like the number on the dice, the answer would be no. At that point, life lessons about working through things that don't work out the way you hoped were learned!

As I pondered this new year and the beginning of a new decade I could not resist the temptation to look back over the last 10 years. First, I was overwhelmed at how much LIFE had happened in ten years. It felt like long days at the moment but now it seems that time flew like light years. In the past decade I definitely saw God's hand loving me, blessing me, and teaching me. There was such a mixture of mountain tops and valleys, the thrilling and the very mundane, and also great joys and incredible sorrows. There were those instances where I could honestly say "I got this right" and was so proud of my decision, action, reaction, etc... However, there were also those times of opportunities missed, less than brilliant decisions, and behavior that did not exactly portray the "love of Christ". There were many victories but not nearly as many as I had hoped. Like the children when things did not go exactly right - the words "Can I have a do-over?" kept coming to mind.

The reality is that we can never go back and change history. That decade is gone and there is no time machine to go backwards and do it over again. However, I also know that my past does not have to dictate my future. 2010 is the perfect time to start again. In Joel 2:25 it says, "I will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten" or another version says, "I will give you back what was lost". The word that came to mind immediately was "redeemed". Webster defines redeem as "to offset the bad effect of or to buy back". So...all those decisions that were not so great or not being as far along in my spiritual walk as I think I should be - can all be redeemed. God can take my "not so great track record" and somehow use it for good. 2010 is brand new and just chock full of opportunities to allow God to offset the bad effect of. Therefore, as I look back my prayer for my future is that God would redeem my past and allow me to start again. Now that is the best "do over" anyone could ever receive!

The Best Christmas Present I Ever Received

I love Christmas for many reasons but one in particular is that I love to give gifts. It is a thrill to watch someone’s face light up when you surprise him or her with something wonderful. While giving is great fun I have to admit that receiving them is not too bad either! Because of my love for this part of the holiday I have learned that Christmas presents come in three categories. Some are awesome and are just what you wanted Other gifts are in the “ok” category and are nice but just do not evoke that “WOW” emotion. Then there are those gifts that you receive (and hopefully never give) that…well you wonder what in the world that person was thinking when they purchased that item. However, those kinds of gifts make for great stories and also are the perfect thing for “white elephant” parties. The key here though is to make sure that the person who gave you that present is not at that party!!

The gift I write about today is not one that we would exchange and in fact has to be the BEST Christmas present in the whole world. It was our daughter, Rosemary who is celebrating her 20th birthday on Christmas. Her story is beautiful, amazing, funny, and filled with awe – just as she is. So…here is her story.

You would think that the story would begin on December 25, 1989 on the day she was born but so many things happened before her birth that the whole story requires telling. One of the most amazing sagas of her story happened in late May or early June. I was just about 8 or 9 weeks pregnant and with two small boys in tow, tired and sick most of the time. On one early summer hot afternoon, after a full morning of entertaining two boys age 4 and 2, I was exhausted. After putting the boys down for their nap I decided to take one also. I fell asleep on our bed on my back with my arms stretched over my head (which is something I never do) – right under our ceiling fan in our bedroom. Sleep quickly overcame me. Suddenly I heard one of the boys cry out in a loud voice, “Mom” and I reached forward with my right arm to get up. At that instant, our ceiling fan fell from the ceiling directly on to my stomach. The only thing shielding our baby was my arm and hand that had come across my body as I started to get up. When I disentangled myself from the fan and cleared my head from the shock of having a fan fall from the ceiling, I went to check on the boys. They were both sound asleep in their beds! I stood there dumbfounded because I knew someone had cried out and awakened me just before the fan fell. If that had not happened I would have taken the full blow and weight of that fan on my abdomen. I knew then that God had protected not only me but also our unborn baby from that crazy accident. The only injury I sustained was a bruised arm and hand from the heavy fan. We knew then this child was going to be something special.

Compared to the story of the fan, the rest of the pregnancy was pretty uneventful except the waiting and wondering about whether this was a boy or a girl. We had two boys and secretly I hoped for a girl but I was scared because I only knew how to raise boys. Girl’s hair and ribbons and frilly things scared me. I knew how to play football, basketball, and baseball but knew nothing of dolls and dress-up. I guess the anxiety began to translate into bad dreams. One night when my family had arrived for thanksgiving I got the turkey ready for the oven before I went to bed. I dreamed that night that I gave birth to not a baby but a turkey neck. I guess pulling all of the giblets and neck out of the turkey somehow traumatized me!!

The holidays were upon us and we had no baby yet. None of our children have been born on time or even near my due date. So…two weeks past the due date my mom and dad arrived. I felt like I was under a microscope all of the time. I was allowed to do very little so that made the waiting even longer. Christmas morning arrived and the boys got to open all of the gifts and we had a grand time with them. My mother and dad decided to stay home and get lunch completed while we went to the 10:00 church service. Before we left I began to feel a little weird but nothing I could say was labor. Sitting through church with two toddlers on Christmas morning is a challenge but being nine plus months pregnant adds a whole new element to the service. Just as the opening music started, I began to feel some serious pain. As the service continued, the pains got stronger and closer together. I let my husband know what was going on but I also knew that we have never left a church service early – we wait until the final chord has been played. Waiting would not usually be a big deal because children take a long time to be born. However, our 2nd son has been born in less than three hours from the first pain until the first cry and we had to drive to Little Rock. Finally, I leaned over and told him that unless we wanted to be on TV for delivering a baby in the middle of church perhaps we should leave NOW!! We left early that day! Everyone around us was a little nervous too. Seeing a very pregnant women, a harried husband, and two toddlers leaving in the middle of church must mean that something serious is about to happen.

We arrived home just as my mother was taking the turkey out of the oven. We told them we had to go to the hospital. My father asked if we could at least wait until we had lunch and I told him that even though mom was a nurse I did not think the pecan pie would be worth the wait. So…with my father looking longingly at his Christmas lunch on the table we left for Little Rock. We arrived and got settled into a room and the labor promptly STOPPED! I could not believe it (and neither could my dad). They walked me up and down the halls but nothing seemed to help. Finally, things started up again. After much time and effort the doctor announced that we had a baby GIRL! I could not believe my ears. What a wonderful gift we had received. After the pictures were taken and everyone got to hold her we all realized we were starving. The cafeteria was closed and no restaurants were open. So my poor husband drives all around until he finds a gas station that is open and he brought back cheese balls for our dinner. To this day, my dad tells everyone that his granddaughter caused him to eat stale cheese balls for his Christmas dinner when there was a feast waiting for him that we had plenty of time to savor and enjoy.

Late that evening in our room, holding our precious Christmas gift, I looked down on the hospital grounds at the manger scene bathed in a beautiful glow. I could not help but think of Mary and Joseph and the precious gift they (and all humanity) had been given on that Christmas night. The uniqueness of a Christmas baby was an awe-inspiring treasure. Words can’t really do justice to the wonder that we felt. Our boys overheard someone say something about how terrible it was that our baby was born on Christmas. They promptly turned around and told them that their sister had the best birthday of anyone – she had Jesus’ birthday. Out of the mouths of babes….

Since that day, Rosemary has grown to be a beautiful and amazing young woman. We have celebrated many birthdays – always at 8:00 at night on Christmas day. We are so proud of her – not just for all of her accomplishments but because of who she is. She is a delight and we are so grateful for the gift that she was and is to us. Happy 20th birthday, Rosemary. May God bless you with many more – you are the best Christmas present anyone could have ever received.

Homecoming

I just love “homecomings”! I am not referring to those football or basketball games where folks return to their Alma Maters and see old classmates. Those are good and fun but not nearly as good as what I am about to describe. I have had 3 of my children serving in missions on the other side of the world for the past four months. One was in Freetown, Sierra Leone and the other two were in Santiago, Chile. They left a day apart and returned a day apart. Thus, in the past 36 hours I have had the privilege of celebrating two homecomings! The month of December at the Wright household has NOT been counted in “how many days ‘till Christmas” but rather “how many days until Zach, Ashley, and Erik come home”. So…I have tried to do the things I needed to do in the past week or so but always keeping an eye on the day and time. I continually prayed for their safe travel and for everything to be on time with no weather delays, etc… I started buying the groceries, washing anything that needed freshening up, and doing anything I thought might “get ready” for the big day. Zach and Ashley arrived first at 8:00 a.m. this past Tuesday. That meant driving through rush hour traffic to get to the gate on time. Fortunately for the other drivers on the road that morning, my husband drove. I fear that if I had driven and someone had gotten in my way that “seeing the love of Christ” might not have been the first thing the other driver would have noticed! That sounds terrible to say but I know there are lots of moms out there who certainly understand! We made it on time and all was well except the plane was there but we waited and waited and waited and they still did not come. They have security guards now that keep you from going to the gate, but I confess that if five more minutes had passed I think I could have taken them and made it to the gate before they caught up with me to stop me! Fortunately for everyone involved, we finally saw them coming around the corner. Then the real celebration started! Hugs, tears, laughter, everyone talking at once – chaos at its finest was the accurate description of the scene.

Next day, thirty-six hours later Erik is due to arrive. We had a production rehearsal (final rehearsal before performance - so this is a really big deal) that was scheduled to be over at 8:45 p.m. His plan was due at 8:50 p.m. and the airport was 40 minutes away. We stayed until the last possible moment. Then the Wright gang ended up coming to the airport in three different vehicles leaving at various moments apart as soon as they could be dismissed. We all made it on time – bailing out of vehicles and leaving the driver to fend for himself as to parking and even money to park! And again…we waited and waited and waited. Some crazy “arrival / departure monitor screen” had the nerve to say the plane was not due in until 10:00 p.m. but another one said it had landed. That was a little confusing and once again thoughts of taking on security began to form in my head. However, Erik texted me to say the plane had landed and he would be there soon. Once again, jail time was averted! The scene from the previous day was repeated – joy, excitement, tears, love, laughter, and all around craziness! True celebration if there ever was a celebration!

I want to bed last night with my heart so full of gratitude and love. There was total and complete joy at seeing my children HOME! This morning I was reminded that what I experienced was just a small taste of what our Heavenly Father feels when one of his children comes home. In fact, there is a great story in Luke 15 about this very thing. This particular son did not leave home to go on the mission field but rather wanted to go out and experience all of the things he thought he was missing out on. So he takes his inheritance and goes to a distant country. The scripture tells us that he squandered his wealth on “wild living”. Then there was a famine. (This is a “by the way” but isn’t it interesting that a famine of the soul usually occurs after we decide life on the wild side is worth trying.) The son got so hungry that he did things he never would have thought he would do. But the story does not end there. Luke 15:17-19, “when he came to his senses…he said, I will set out and go back to my father…I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men”. Simply put, he wanted to go home but did not think he could be anything more than a servant. My favorite part of the story comes next. V.20 “But while he (the son) was still a long way off his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Then they celebrated and threw a big party! While my children were gone for different reasons than the one in the parable, the homecoming was still very similar. Just like me, the father was watching and waiting and counting the moments and started running when only a speck of them became visible. Then the joy and the party and the gratitude and the chaos began and continued for a long time.

Christmas is the best time for homecomings! John tells us “The Word (Jesus) became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The big “why did He do this” is so that we could go home. Without Jesus, we had no way to make that possible. He gave us the gift in Himself for us to be able to go home. Often the struggle for mankind to accept this simple idea usually takes on one of two issues. The first says, I can get my act together enough and be good enough and do enough good stuff to be able to go home on my own merit.” The other says, “I have done too much bad stuff and therefore I will never be worthy of getting to go home.” Neither of those two ideas is right or true. We can never be good enough to earn it by ourselves nor can we ever be bad enough to be beyond help or hope. So…this Christmas come home! Don’t worry about where you have been and what you have done or if you deserve anything. Just come home. The Father is standing on the front porch looking and watching and waiting and ready to welcome you HOME! He is ready for a BIG party and…He has His running shoes on!

The Perfect Gift

This time of year I sometimes hear folks lamenting the "gift buying chores" and how they hate shopping. The day after Thanksgiving is even called Black Friday. Sounds kind of terrible if you ask me. I don't see it that way at all because this is my most super favorite and exciting time of the year. I LOVE Christmas!! I love the sights, the sounds, the excitement, and definitely the tastes. But...I really love the gifts. That is definitely my "love language" and boy do I "speak" this time of year. I love listening to my family and friends for that little thing they said in passing and then surprising them with it. You know those things they thought was either no big deal or way too bothersome for someone to notice their want or need. Now, don't get me wrong - I love to get gifts but I soooo love giving them. I am just about to explode this time of year because it kills me to keep all of the secrets and I can't wait for the recipient to open them! I have to admit that not every gift is awesome and amazing. Those are rare but boy when they come they are so fun!

The interesting thing about gifts is that they don't have to be expensive to be amazing. One of my most favorite gifts that I have received was a cassette tape. My precious husband had put together a collection of all of "our songs" and recorded it onto this tape. I literally wore that thing out. I still have it - even though it no longer works. The only expense involved was some time and the cassette tape itself. However, that gift was priceless because of what it represented - a way to show love to me.

God knows all about that kind of gift. He gave the greatest love gift - His Son. Only this gift was very costly - not in the way the world measures cost but in the way that really matters. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life." Just saying that is more than my mind can wrap around. I love giving gifts but I have to be honest, I don't know that I love anyone that much. Fortunately for all of us, God does love that much. He knew exactly what we needed and was willing to spare no expense.

So this Christmas as you are out shopping - ask for God's perspective. Rather than being irritated or stressed by all of it - ask for God's guidance and aid as you shop. Ask Him to give you insight into the "real needs" of each recipient so that they are "blessed" incredibly. You may even be surprised to find that you can stay easily within your Christmas budget this year. And...like God, you meet needs in a special and unique way that will never be forgotten.
Merry Christmas and Happy Gift Giving.

Thanksgiving is a favorite!

I love holidays! I love everything about them. I love the foods, the decorations, the smells associated with them. I especially love Thanksgiving. Fall is one of my favorite times of year. I really love beautiful fall-colored trees. My children get so weary of me saying "Oh look at that tree! Isn't that beautiful!" Their answers usually range from the "yes mom, that was the same tree on the way that you said that about" or just making fun of me in general. I am also a purist when it comes to holidays. I firmly believe that you don't decorate for the next one until the current one is over. I would NEVER even think of putting up a Christmas tree before Thanksgiving! I love my pumpkins and scarecrows and oranges and reds and golds way too much to skip over them. I think the thing I like best about Thanksgiving is that it is what it is. It has not been commercialized because how can you really do that to "thankfulness" anyway. It is just there or it is not. I know those who are just thankful people all of the time. It is just part of their personality. However, I find that I need a specific day to cause me to really reflect on all of the blessings that I have been given. So...even though this was posted a couple of days after Thanksgiving, I pray that each of you pause to reflect on those amazing and wonderful blessings that it is so easy to overlook and ignore.

Camel Rides and Sycamore Trees

I recently returned from an AMAZING trip to the Holy Land. The entire time I was there I was constantly in awe of where I was and what I was seeing. Words constantly fail me when I try to describe the impact this trip had on me emotionally and spiritually. I am glad that I remembered to close my mouth when someone was taking pictures because most of the time it was wide open in delight and I had that "oh my" expression in my very big eyes. I honestly felt like a little kid again - laughing and crying and asking a million questions and literally jumping up and down over what I was doing or about to get to do! I would not be entirely honest if I did not say that I probably embarrassed my husband and several others on the tour on many occasions. The funny thing is that most of the time I am rarely like that. I am an emotional person but my actions tend to be very responsible and very "low risk". (Just ask my children - I have been known to squelch their fun because I deemed the "fun" too risky.) But there are occasions when something comes over me and all of that goes right out of the window. Disney World did that to me to an extent because I did not get to go until I was in my late 30's. This trip however was like Disney on major steroids!

Thus the attached pictures and title. I threw caution to the wind and got to experience some really cool things that normally I would never do. For example, I went on a camel ride. I have seen camels in the zoo, on TV, and in the movie Aladdin. Just for the record, they don't look that tall on TV! However, when we stopped at a Bedouin camp and they offered camel rides I did not even hesitate. As a matter of fact, when I stepped off of the bus, a little boy wrapped a turban around my head and literally pulled me to the camel. The funny thing about this is that I have a real issue over wearing "head things" that other people have worn or even sharing a hair brush. I also have a fear of heights and large animals. So before I could blink, I was properly "turbaned" and saddled on a camel. I found myself laughing hysterically - a mixture of awe and fear has that effect on me. I also get really loud too! Pictures were taken and eventually the knees stopped knocking and the heartbeat returned to normal - but what a great adventure it was.

One of the other things I did that you see pictured was climb a sycamore tree. This was the second day of our tour and we were on our way to a museum to see the "Jesus Boat". Our guide said, "Look there is a sycamore tree just like Zacchaeus climbed up in to see Jesus". The next thing I knew, myself and two other middle-age women were up in a tree. Others on the tour were laughing hysterically and taking pictures like crazy! Just for the record, I have not climbed a tree in about 35 - 40 years! I just knew that I had sung the song about Zacchaeus being a "wee little man and a wee little man was he" for as long as I could remember. and if he thought it was a good idea to get a better view - I thought it was worth at least investigating for myself!

That was only a couple of the many adventures that I got to experience. There are many more that I will share in days to come but the point of this story is that I felt incredibly "alive" during this trip. So much so that my children were beginning to wonder if some foreign creature had invaded their mother's body. As long as they have known me they have never seen my on a camel and certainly not in a tree! However, I must admit it was so very freeing to feel so "child-like". And...don't you just love that about children - you can read that sense of wonder all over them when they see or hear or experience something truly amazing. I think this is a picture of that "abundant life" idea that Jesus spoke about. I know that everyday is not filled with "camel rides" but I am learning that each day can hold "awe" if I let it. Sometimes I just am so busy that I don't notice the "awe" moment. It can be found even in the midst of hardship and heartbreak. The unexpected and amazing can occur when you least expect it. The good news is that when it does, it really is ok to act like a kid now and then. So...go ahead - jump, or laugh, or get excited, or cry if you need to. Not only is it ok but usually much needed! Just as we celebrate and enjoy our children and what delights them - so does our Heavenly Father.

Quieted Like a Baby

The other day I had a series of trying events and frustrating situations - all on the heels of each other. You know those days - you have had it and you can't take it any more. I was grumpy and the only other possible emotion was to be even grumpier. To make matters worse it was only 8:00 a.m. I know that I can't be the only person in the world who has day(s) like this. So whoever is reading this surely can relate. Finally, after trying several thing to make me feel better or to "see the bright side" I decided to try reading God's Word. I flipped my Bible open and this is where it just "happened" to fall open. Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

Immediately this incredible peace and quiet came over me. The feeling was unexplainable - nothing had changed. Yet, something was definitely different. I can only describe my feelings by relating it to a baby who is just "out of sorts". Nothing in particular is wrong and yet they are restless and unsettled and fretful. When our children were small and they were like this I would pick them up, hold them gently to me, rock and perhaps sing. I could feel when they just relaxed and then suddenly things were right with them again.

God was being my Heavenly Father at that moment. I was his child and I was the one who was "out of sorts". He "quieted" me with His love from His Word. It was a precious gift to a very fretful child. The funny thing is that I can't really remember ever reading out of Zephaniah but that passage was marked by a highlighter. So...He must have used that passage before and just like my children responded each time to the same things that calmed them - I did the same.