…the weary world rejoices!

Merry Christmas! Yes, I realize this post is a few weeks late. But better late than never? Also, we were in Iowa for the two weeks after Christmas, and so maybe this blog is right on time.

This year for Christmas Nathan and I tried something new, we intentionally started decorating for Christmas later than we wanted. I usually wait until after Thanksgiving to play Christmas music and decorate, but this year we waited even longer. We wanted to be able to soak in Christmas long after December 25th, and to still feel the joy that comes from listening to Christmas music or eating a candy cane or watching a Christmas movie into early January. January and February have got to be the worst months, but maybe, just maybe, extending our Christmas celebrations will help the month of January be a little more hope-filled.

We got our tree from Home Depot (fancy) and I picked out one that I thought would fit well in our living room. Nathan then picked out one atleast a whole foot taller AND wider and of course we ended up getting that one. It’s rounder than any tree I’ve had before, and it takes up a third of our living room, but it’s perfect! After we decorated it, Hezzy kept saying “so cool” and it absolutely melted our hearts. Okay Hez, we will get you the roundest, biggest Christmas tree every year if you keep being so dang cute.

We didn’t watch nearly as many Christmas movies as we would have liked this year, but Hez made up for it by the huge amount of candy canes he ate. One afternoon we did bring a mattress and all of our blankets and pillows by the TV as we ate popcorn and watched the Polar Express (or the big train movie if you’re hez).

We attended our church’s Christmas Eve candlelight service and Hez spun around with his candle lit, briefly missing our friend’s cardigan who was sitting in front of us (sorry Miriam). He also at one point tried to stick his Cheeze-it in the flame. Meanwhile, Naomi cuddled with a friend the whole service, it was great.

Christmas morning we opened a few presents at our house. Nathan got me a cold brew maker so apparantly he thinks I need to spend less money at coffee shops, and a few other things. I got Nathan a new board game (how many games can one family own?), a book on the Office, and a few other things. This was the first year Hez really enjoyed opening presents and he was so excited! We drank coffee, opened presents and then packed up our van to begin the drive to Iowa.

Five hours (and no potty accidents—yay hez!) later we made it to Cedar Falls! We celebrated Christmas with my family the next day and Hez loved playing with his cousins. Nathan and I loved playing games every night, and feasting on lots of good food. It was so much fun to spend an extended amount of time with family we don’t often see.

After a week in Cedar Falls, we traveled to visit with Nathan’s family. I’m pretty sure at this point between Christmas celebrations and Hez’s birthday celebrations Hez just thinks he gets some new toys every few days. Oh well, there could be worse things. We spent another whole week feasting on snacks, good coffee and playing even more games.

Throughout the two weeks of travel, I was amazed by how well the kids traveled. We had them share a room for the first time, and they slept great! The first night I was concerned about Naomi because she did not make a single noise the whole night.

Sometimes motherhood can make me weary. The constant redirecting of my children to not sit on one another, or to not pelt blocks at each other. The wakings in the middle of the night after a nightmare, and the protested naps. I feel weary when I think about the hurdles my kids may have to face. I want to protect them from the brokenness of this world, but i cannot and it makes me feel weary. And let’s be honest, don’t we all feel a little weary right now? Going on two years of dealing with COVID, the overall rise in mental health issues, overworked and overwhelmed healthcare workers, teachers, parents (everyone?). Sometimes it all just feels a little bit weary.

And while I don’t have words to make the present less weary, I do hold fast to who God is, and what he says. I hold fast to the fact that he is here, he is present and that he tells us to draw near to him.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

And that while we grow weary, God does not. He remains steadfast, he remains constant.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. (Isaiah 40:28-30 ESV)

And that this God who is everlasting, this God who created everything calls us to hope in Him.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3 ESV)

Talk about a thrill of hope! Hot dog.

Anyways, I hope that if you feel weary this January, you will know that you are not alone. I also hope you would experience that thrill of hope, whatever it may look like.