Hope

 "Christ comes right to your Christmas tree and looks at your family tree and says, "I am your God, and I am one of you, and I'll be the Gift, and I'll take you. Take Me?"......This, this, is the love story that's been coming for you since the beginning.

Every year for the last 24 years, SD and I have tracked out to a farm, cut down our own tree, and brought it home. (with one exception, the great flu of 2007 when our real tree came from Home Depot)

Most years it falls far from my Norman Rockwell vision. Last year the middle child broke out in hives (he's allergic), 2 of the 3 refused to take a picture, ugly things were said. No one wanted to decorate said tree once it was home. Guess who watered the thirsty thing twice a day for a month?

This year we have the VERY busy puppy. My house is a mess of baby gates and things up high where he can't reach them.

I dragged this artificial tree up from the basement Saturday morning and put it up.

Announced there would be no family decorating of this tree but did ask that people show up and eat dinner and be present while Peanut decorated it. Provided take out. I'm not above bribery.

SD is a little sad about the change in tradition this year. This tree does not smell. There was no walk in the woods.

I'm learning to let go of what isn't.

And stand in what is.

This year I'm going to find the joy in the artificial tree, hidden from the dog behind the baby gates and tucked in a corner.

This year I'm going to try to lay down my expectations and pick up abundant hope.

Mama Warriors, What if we let go of what isn't and made room for what could be? What if we embraced the idea that there is abundant living in the gap between the way it is and the way we wish it could be?

If we spend all our time in the gap praying to get out of it, or praying for it to look differently, or praying for something else - we miss the message in the gap.

The gap is the place where we grow, where we learn, where we both receive and extend the love of Jesus.

The gap is the place where we find hope for what is to come.

Hope is in the artificial Christmas tree.