"Over" the Holidays

This is going to sound awful. Just thinking through it in my head makes me cringe.  So, I'll just say it. I am so glad Christmas is over. There, much better. Now, I will explain.

I was really looking forward to the Christmas holiday this year. I bought my tree early. I put it up the week of Thanksgiving. I started listening to Christmas music as soon as I could find it. I was determined to enjoy everything about Christmas this year. Whitt is a little older, all my kids travel just a little better, I have a brand new nephew who would have his first Christmas. It was a big deal around here. I was excited about all the family gatherings and watching kids lose their minds together. And then we got Hannah Grace's test results. On that day, (the Wednesday after Thanksgiving) my world shifted. I will say here, that I had prayed for that day. I had prayed without ceasing for the answers. The Lord answered in a mighty way. At 9:30 on that Wednesday morning, I got my answers, my solution, and my timeline. By 10:30 that morning, I had her withdrawn from school, decided to fast forward our moving day by five months, and rearranged every single family Christmas gathering we had planned to our house. As the next couple of days went by and things slowed down a little, I began to want to withdraw. I knew that keeping her home was right. I trust her doctors, and I trusted my own mind because I knew this was the answer I prayed for. But I started to panic. I hadn't bought one single Christmas gift. I had just invited every member of our combined families to our house for Christmas. What in the world was I thinking?!?!  Another few days and the panic started to pass. I could do this. I have been in countless ERs and doctors offices this year, and  I wanted Christmas. I could, I WOULD handle this. I wanted a house full of family, even if I did have to walk around with a GermX bottle. I wanted to cook. I wanted to host. I wanted to show off my cute, little Christmas tree. I wanted to brag about my new skill of making a real fire in a fire place. So that's what we did. Even with some last minute rearranging because of fevers, the families rallied and made this an amazing Christmas. My family was spoiled by everyone, loved on by more people than I can count. I watched my nephew have his first Christmas and was given the gift of a future sister in law all on the same day. Still wondering why I'm glad it's over?

I'm two days from 2014. 2013 has been a roller coaster of epic proportions. I want 2014 to be better. I want 2014 to go a little slower. I want 2014 to be a little easier. I'm not expecting that to happen though.  I know that the first thing we will do in this new year is get the booster that Hannah Grace desperately needs. I'm ready to start the clock on her treatment time. In the first month of 2014, we are moving. It's going to be wild, but I'm ready. 2014 is going to the opening of our new business. This is a huge step out of our comfort zone and a massive leap of faith. But I'm ready to see God's plan unfold for all of this and our family. A pastor friend of mine, Matt Redmond, had two amazing posts today of Facebook.  I'd like to share those with you:

It's possible greater things are not to come for you, your church, or your city, in 2014. Christ will still be faithful.

Make a reverse resolution to look back on all the joys, regrets, and losses of 2013 through the lens of "Christ and him crucified."

Woah. I love God's timing. I love how God uses His people to speak to the rest of us. I love the gift of communication given to pastors. I love and am very thankful for the gift of technology that allows us to access each other more freely. I love that I have the opportunity to benefit from teaching all over the world. So, I will take these two statements, I try my best to approach 2014 with this perspective. 2013 was not easy, and most of it wasn't fun, but Christ was ALWAYS faithful. The lessons I've learned, the ways I've changed, I'm so thankful for that.  So yeah, I'm over the holidays; I'm over 2013. I'm ready to see what more I will learn in 2014. And for one of my resolutions, I'm going to try my best to share it with you.