My wife Kathie decorates our house for other seasons (Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving), but those simply serve as a countdown for the Holy Grail of all seasons…Christmas!
When it comes to Christmas, Kathie is zealous!
She is always thinking about how to decorate our house, what food she’s going to cook, and what parties she is going to have. To avoid having people in our neighborhood get their decorations up before us, she has me putting up lights well before Thanksgiving.
A few weeks ago I was outside taking care of the house lights, the placement of the nativity scene, and of course the inflatable Santa. With my usually Clarke Griswold genius, I figured out the electrical needs using strategically placed photocell timers, as well as refining the correct use of LED lights.
I went into the house to get Kathie to come out and see my work. As I entered, I was amazed to see that she had already decorated the tree, and had put up garland, wreaths, lights, candles, and other decorations all over the house. And there was a fresh baked cookie smell everywhere (not technically impressive, but yummy).
When our RE:gen group came to our house the next night, some of them commented on the outside lights, although nobody seem to notice my strategically placed photocell timers. But everybody went on and on about the decorations inside our house. They loved how beautiful the tree and the wreaths and the candles were. And they loved the un-technical smell of fresh baked goodness.
Thinking about Kathie’s passion for Christmas and her approach to decorations reminds me of a conversation the angel Gabriel had with Mary. When Gabriel had finished telling Mary about how she was going to give birth to the Messiah, we’re told that she was confused and asked, “How can this happen?” Gabriel answered her with what the prophet Isaiah had said many years earlier:
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.“
(Isaiah 9:6-7)
Like Mary, have you ever wondered how certain circumstances in your life will ever work out? Look at those words, “the zeal of the Lord will perform this.” In other words, God will arrange, plan, and put things together in your life that seem impossible, but his zeal and passion will see that they happen.
Add a Comment