Ready

The little lights were burning. Christmas Day had arrived, and even though my girls are teens now, we have a small birthday party for Jesus to start the morning. We want to ready our hearts for Him.

In simplicity, refrigerated Ding Dongs for cake, able to withstand the candle's heat.

Having gotten up extra early, I was ready. Hair done. Make-up on. A person who loves to take photos and make photo albums continually thinks of these things. Since the girls were small, they never belted out into the living room Christmas morning. No, I went to them, woke them up, got them ready ... for pictures.

That could be a Texas thing, a photographer's thing, an uptight person's thing, a problematic thing ... don't look too deeply into that thing.

But those photo albums have to be nice. Memories, you know! We must be ready.

Camera ready. Batteries charged.

Waiting. Everyone ready?

No. Waiting on Dad now. The girls are waiting on the stairs. The candles are burning lower and lower, refusing to wait.

I'm going to have to blow them out.

Out.

The end of Christmas always leaves me a little down and out. It always means my girls will be a year older in the following months. And you know I'm grateful for that, grateful for each blessed year with them. I had the risk of losing one, I know gratitude. But they are growing up. They aren't little anymore. Time doesn't wait. 

And you get that gut-wrenching, questioning feeling ... what will I do with myself? I don't even know my next steps, Lord.

And you shuffle through the piles, the paper, the options, the questions, the mess, the fire ...

And you beg God for your future direction. How to handle this game of Life?

And we best be ready.

On.

Because Jesus' light never goes out. In His faithfulness, He always delivers. For today.

That's a glory and a hallelujah!



~A thank you to Wendy Mac for her "little light" inspiration.