Tis the Season

This is the season of Joy. The time when our Lord was born so long ago in a dingy dirty manger in the middle east. What a blessing for all the world that God chose to come to earth and live among his people for a time. What a time of hardship it must have been. Things were much more difficult back then. Even a trip to get water was an exercise in itself. I can't imagine the challenge of childbirth back then. Not to mention safely rasing a healthy child during that time.

l tend to forget all the blessings I have just by being born in the time that I was. By being alive during the 20th and 21st centuries I have been afforded many luxuries that were unimaginable 2000 years ago. Like flushing toilets for example. Now that is a real luxury we take for granted. Or giving birth in a hospital in a sterile environment with docters and nurses on hand to ensure the health and wellness of our little one and ourselves.

This past month has been one of trials and tribulations in our household. I know God is trying to tell us something or teach us something but I have been very focused on myself and on how bad I feel about the whole thing to reflect on God and be thankful for all that I have and all the little things I am blessed with everyday. My daughter is a constant source of joy and laughter but instead of remembering that, I have been short with her and frustrated by her impulsiveness and inability to follow directions the first time around. She makes me laugh all the time because she is so inherently funny. She says and does things that are so hilarious at this age and I have been forgetting to take pleasure in that. 

Also my husband works very hard, AND all the time so I don't have to. I seem to take that for granted often. God has blessed me with someone who is willing to sacrifice his personal happiness everyday by going to a job he hates just so I can stay home and be with Sofie. That is a major blessing from God and gratefulness has not been in my character in that area lately. God blesses me even when I fail to recognize it.

So don't let life steal your joy. Especially now when we are about to celebrate one of the greatest blessing God has ever given us. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.