Tuesday, December 21, 2010

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

God with us. That’s what Emmanuel means. Did you know that?

I just put Bogie to bed and as I was sitting there quietly in the dark waiting for the sighs and heavy breathing of a sleeping child, the plea in my heart for "God with Us” couldn’t be more present.

What I really feel like is the Christmas Cookie who Crumbled, or my boys would probably say “The Mom Who Yelled”. You see…

It’s raining.

And we have a (hopefully) small leak in our roof, which of course is leaking in the living room.

It’s raining.

And I’m too slow physically these days to get everything done which frustrates me to no end.

It’s raining.

And I’ve forgotten to call three people back this week. Agh. Prego brain and clumsiness have moved on in.

It’s raining.

And my kids are bouncing off of the walls with Barn Fever. Yes they are like caged animals right now who are cooped up and ready to pounce.

The pressure to get things done for this new soul that is coming to live with us is mounting. No name chosen. No furniture ordered. No car picked out. The list goes on.

So, I want to be the Mom who is in the moment and loving every second, the Friend who is reliable, the Daughter who is a pleasure, the Wife who is happy and romantic and calm… “I want” is the key phrase because all of that seems to have flown out the window. I actually threw it out the window today. But then I recognize, “Emmanuel- God with us.”And I remember that I can lean on Him for He is good. Tomorrow is another day. And I have the gift of life in Him to share with my kids and my husband and everyone else.  xmas 2010 370

I can choose to be a light or I can hide and crumble under pressure- that is mostly my own. So I’m not going to stress that when my neighbors showed up this evening to drop off Christmas gifts I had a load of warm laundry on the couch and mail strewn across the desk. Or that the people I forgot to call back will be too terribly upset. Or that my boys have not gotten their 60+ minutes of outside physical exercise in four days. Because ultimately, who is going to recall most of these concerns next week or next year? And if those are my stresses, then life is good, because there is so much junk others are going through this season.

Our Pastor said this past weekend, “God is Good, Life is Hard.”

Isn’t that the truth? Life is hard.

But I choose to cling to Emmanuel because He is good.

Rain or shine.

~mrs. dunbar

10 comments:

Genn said...

Great thoughts Irene.
I'm sorry it sounds like it was a long day.
Yes it's raining. It is starting to get a little cumbersome with little ones. I busted out the Play dough tonight. But there are only so many dvds we can watch and games before we all want to scream.
Hope your leaky roof is no big deal.
Love your perspective on it all though. You are so very right. Hang in there.

Lori said...

it is always hard when the rain sets in at the same time as the stress, pressure and craziness. Some days you have to just chalk to the list and do something fun with the kids... pop popcorn and put on a Christmas movie. Have relay races in the living room. convince them that cleaning is a fun thing? When all else fails, there is always chocolate!

Mrs. C... said...

Great post. I think I am going to stalk the lake that is now in the backyard, so the kids can go fishing! Want to come? It's raining, more than it did the entire year last year, but we are here, and although your roof may have a leak, we have homes to keep us dry and warm. As for the little one - just send him over here! :)

The Chelette Family said...

Great perspective on life. It's all about Him and it's so easily forgotten when life is stressful. Hope your roof is fixed soon. It's supposed to be sunny on Thursday! Yay! Keeping the house picked up when it's raining and kids are inside is stressful and you're right, no one will remember tomorrow! Keep your head up and feel better today.

{cindy} said...

Hang in there friend!
You are so right, tomorrow is a new day and God is oh so good!!!
This too shall pass and you are so right to hang onto and enjoy those little moments, those are the ones they will remember right??
Enjoy the night and Merry Christmas.

Cathy said...

I could have written the same post yesterday, my friend. As I was leaving the house to "escape" (Target) the whining and the ungrateful hearts (kids, that is...and yes, God reminded me I can be ungrateful, too!), i fell down the icy back steps and have a bruise so big and ugly it's a shame i can't show anyone! I sat there in a heap just bawling :) BUT! His mercies are new everyday and He is with us. Sigh. Deep down? It IS well with our souls :) XOXO

Megan said...

So true, so true. I think we all feel the up and the downs more heavily this time of year. So much to be done and so much riding with our emotions. Thankful that we have a Savior who gives us fresh mercy every day!

Seizing My Day said...

Amen. That is by far one of my favorite songs!! I had a day like that yesterday... right before our early "Christmas eve" service... feeling like a total mom failure... neighbor failure... etc. etc. and then we pulled ourselves up and went to the church service frustrated... and came away very very blessed! =) Glad to stop by and read this today!! ;)

Simply...Me said...

I like to close my eyes and imagine all of the stress, all the world just melting away and there I am face to face with Christ. I imagine He would smile and I smile back. Peace and calm flow through me, I take a deep breath and pop back into the reality that everything still needs to be cleaned washed, mopped, etc. But that is what really matters leaning on Him to pull through. Oh ya and Im a great sitter (as I toot my own horn) if you ever need a break.

Lori said...

I love this. Thank you!