and grace will lead me home

Today, as I begin to type this, it’s December 18th. Seven days until Christmas. I started planning Christmas in September. How to make a few extra dollars for holiday spending. What gifts would be meaningful for our children and others we love. What activities we would pick to celebrate the season. What I would cook for the people coming into our home. I was ready to enjoy and embrace this season. And today? Right now? I’m sitting in the driveway with three sick sleeping children. The first one came down with an eye infection on December 3rd, and here we are. Sleepless nights. Runny noses. Fevers burning. We missed the teddy bear tea and the Santa visit. Instead we rocked and wiped tears and gave medicine at all hours. We missed family pizza night and gift exchange with aunts and uncles and cousins. Instead we scheduled sick visits and picked up prescriptions and paid co pays. We missed the Christmas concert and our date and all the parties. Instead we gave midnight sips of water to pitiful coughing babies and took temperatures and rocked some more. It hasn’t been what we planned. No magic. No occasions to wear the precious matching Christmas dresses that I bought months ago. No lights. No holiday treats. No shopping trips. And now? Seven days until Christmas? When we’ve all but missed it? Grace.

Read More