Christmas--The Out of Control Version

Well, I didn't expect to be here this Christmas...

And by here, I mean in Boston...

 in the hospital, helping my daughter, Jamie, as she recovers from surgery. 

 This year she found out that she had hip dysplasia, and needed an osteotomy--a surgery that requires reconstructing the hip joint, realigning it, putting in six pins, and instructing the patient to stay off that leg for 3 months. For Jamie, that means being on crutches for 3 months. In Boston. In the winter.   She had to have the surgery in December over Christmas break, so she'd have a good six weeks to start healing before her classes at Boston University start again.

The surgery was long, and the recovery process is not easy...which is why my husband, Ben, and I have taken turns staying with her. He'll be flying back to Boston to join us on December 25.

The Christmas of our dreams? Not so much...

All three of us have missed gatherings of friends and family; we'll miss Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services at church; we'll miss the annual Tacky Light Tour in Richmond; and most important, Jamie's in pain, for crying out loud! That's not supposed to happen at Christmas!

But chances are, you, too, have been through the same kind of thing at one time or another: Just when you think you're actually in control of your life, something nutty happens, and all you can think for a while is "Really? Really?? Why this, God?  Why now?" 

Which, of course, we don't exactly know yet.

But we do know a couple things:

--God works in crazy ways. There are only select places in the country where orthopedic surgeons do osteotomies. One of the best is in Boston. No coincidence there.

--God will provide. For Jamie, this has meant enjoying the stellar effects of some mighty fine drugs.

--God specializes in bringing sweetness in the middle of the worst of times. Like lots of uninterrupted, unhurried time to talk. Like the kindness of friends, old and new. Like watching lots of sappy, sentimental Hallmark movies and more episodes of Toddlers and Tiaras than I will ever tell anybody...

And so it goes, doesn't it? So much of life is out of our control...in big, global ways and in small, personal ways. And because of that, we're grateful for this:

Every December we can look back and marvel at the designs of God and realize how very little we are in control of the events that shaped the past year...then, with hearts full, look to the celebration of that silent, holy night, and all its certainty. Because of Christmas, this we know: Christ was born for us. He is love, and the plans He has for us always surpass those of our own.

                                --Karen Kingsbury

So this year, I'm wishing you a Christmas of full hearts and certainty that--whatever's going on in your world--God has more in store for you than you could ever dream or imagine...

Celebrate...no matter what!