Remembering Him this Christmas

Because I am going to be traveling and visiting with family over the next month I am going to have a few guest posts on the blog for your reading enjoyment. Today I have Alison from Glimpses of Military Life posting about Christmas. I was very excited when I got her post because I have not had time to plan any Christmas posts this year. I hope you enjoy this as she shares her heart.

I stood at the corner a few nights ago, waiting for the bus to come and take me home from work.  I had already been waiting for some time and I was getting cold and impatient.  It had been a trying day.  I was feeling grumpy- I had been held up at work while the parents of the children I work with stood chatting with one another. Their children refused to put on their coats, hats, and gloves, insisting on five more minutes to play with the same toys that would be there the next day- and every day after that.  They just didn’t have the same sense of urgency that I had to get home.  I was frustrated- frustrated with the government budget cuts that were keeping my hard working, capable and fully qualified husband from contracting with the ROTC.  And I was discouraged that the greatest desire of my heart- to be a mother- was just not happening like I wanted it to.  I was not feeling the Christmas excitement that I usually felt this time of the year.  And I was not feeling Christ-like.

I was contemplating calling my husband to come pick me up.  The bus was taking way too long and I did not want to wait a second longer for it to come.  I did not want to endure another moment listening to the violent coughs of the old man behind me.  I took my phone out of my pocket and checked the time:  6:47 pm.  There was no way I’d make it home by 7.  I sighed impatiently and went back to my book.  But as I stood reading, trying to forget about the cold, the bells of a nearby church started playing Silent Night.  I started to listen.  And in those few moments, I felt total peace.  Suddenly, the cold didn’t bother me so much anymore.  The old man behind me wasn’t as annoying.  In those moments, I was reminded what the season was all about.  It is not about presents or Santa Claus or sales at the department stores.  It’s about celebrating the birth of our Savior.  It didn’t matter that I wasn’t a mother yet or that my husband wasn’t contracted.  None of it mattered to me then because it doesn’t matter to Him.  He loves me for who I am and who I am striving to be.  And in those moments, that was enough for me.

Allison has been an Army National Guard wife for a little over a year and a half.  She works part time as a preschool teacher and loves her job 99% of the time.  She also loves spending time with her adorable niece and nephew, who she babysits often.  She and her husband live in a tiny apartment in a big city and are enjoying life as a guard/law student family.  In her free time, she loves to read, write, cook and craft.  She blogs over at http://glimpsesofthemilitarylife.blogspot.com.