We spent a Sunday baking and “decking” the halls of our cement home, trying our darndest to create holiday mood. It was a stretch for John and I, but happily the kids seemed to be thrilled with the result; delicious gingerbread dough, all the fixings for home made fudge on hand, zucchini bread with frosting (another batch is definitely in order) and a special holiday surprise to be revealed after Grandma and Grandpa arrive. We have elaborate plans to keep our yearly lemon curd tradition and the favorite holiday bark tradition as well.
Funny how attached I am to the typical winter weather and the general atmosphere of the holiday season. Here in South Africa Christmas comes during Summer Vacation; kids have just finished their year of school, many if not most families are going on Holiday. Decorations seem out of place, people dress in their summer wardrobe (pink tank tops and khaki Bermuda shorts) and for the most part families don’t really deck their halls (why decorate when you’ll be spending most of December at a resort or camping on the coast?). The holiday seems out of place here, not because people aren’t kind or giving or lovely, but because it seems so strange to buy the kids a popsicle on the way to greet Santa, or to see beach towels and bikinis for sale in the shop windows instead of sweaters and parkas.
Being a Christian, and being one who has a deep love and appreciation for Jesus Christ, my sincere desire is that the holiday be about Him; I shouldn’t need trimmings and treats to “set a mood” that allows me to reverence his birth or life. I spent many many years of my life singing in choirs and the words of Christmas songs in my memory ring out as I deal with this contradiction:
What Can I give Him?
Poor as I am…If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb.
If I were a wise man….I would do my part
Yet, what I have I give Him
Give my Heart
Give my Heart
It has been a hard lesson for me to realize, that I really do depend a lot on those outward things to prepare my heart for the season. I hope once the day is upon me I will have felt a change, and Christmas will be truly in me, and not in the trimmings around me.
2 comments:
Hi katie,
Cute pictures, and thanks for your email!! your Porter looks SO Much like my nephew Porter! You should see the resemblance...that's a link to Kirsten's blog (his awesome mom). My nephew is only 3, and this is him almost a year ago, but still, you see what I mean in some of the shots (he's the older of the 2 boys in the pics). ♥
Awesome picture of Porter!!!
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