Grandpa's Early Christmas

No church today. Too much snow and ice. Looking forward to peace and quiet on this the day the Lord has made. No such luck. Grandkids are coming over to open presents. Uncle Mike and Lauren also here. Ordered pizza for lunch. Pizza gets here 45 minutes before grandkids. In oven.
Grandkids show up with parents and pent-up energy. Consume three pizzas, four oranges, many grapes, and who knows what else. Open presents. Paper strung everywhere. Much hollering. Boy gets 600 piece Lego set. Am hoping he doesn’t open the plastic packages they come in. Presents being admired, opened, and fought over.
Grandpa goes out and shovels snow. Much quieter out there. Thinks about day the Lord has made. Comes in. Glasses fogged over. Can’t see. Grandchild number 3 asks for super glue. Grandpa hasn’t a clue why a 3 year old would want it, and dares not ask, but doesn’t, fortunately, have any anyway.
Legos are open and a fire truck is in the making on dining table. Drawing stuff, modeling clay stuff, and other stuff out on dining table. Grandbaby Hannah snarfs down applesauce and tapioca pudding. Clean up grandbaby and take out of high chair.
Grandpa gets next-to-last piece of pumpkin pie. Plan is to eat it by holding in hand and not using utensil. Grandbaby Hannah can smell it from ½ mile away and beats a path to Grandpa. Give Grandbaby Hannah last ½ of pie. Feeds first couple of bites with finger as there are no eating utensils handy. Grandbaby Hannah bites finger. Grandpa asks Grandma for spoon and something to wipe sore finger. Grandbaby Hannah smiles and gurgles as she wolfs down pie.
Grandpa surreptitiously gets last piece of pumpkin pie, hides in kitchen, and eats it quickly before odor gets to Grandbaby Hannah. Grandpa goes to basement to recuperate. Much stomping, moving of chairs, and other assorted noises coming from upstairs. Grandpa decides to write about adventure as noises and occasional yells and arguments waft downward. Grandpa wonders if neighbor would like to have snow shoveled…after all, this is the day the Lord has made.

Enjoy the Season

Today is December 17.  It is a week and a day until Christmas Day.  Now, I know and understand that Christmas has different meanings for different people and cultures.  And it has no meaning at all for many who inhabit this planet.  However, for many in our culture, Christmas is a time for giving, serving, and doing for others.  We take our cues for those actions and that attitude from several places, most notably from the life of the one whose birth we celebrate, Jesus, who is called the Christ of God.

I guess what I don’t understand about it all is the sense of frustration, harried-ness, and stress that seems to come with the season.  Although many go through the season with joy and gladness, usually those folks are the ones who, it seems, exhibit those attitudes all year.  It’s the rest of us who have our days and hours turned upside down with the sudden influx of parties, get-togethers, meals, errands, buying, traveling, and planning.  It’s the rest of us who seem to become a little discombobulated through the season and into the new year.

I’m not sure why that is unless it’s that we like, or at least there is a measure of comfort in, the ruts we are in and don’t like to be forced out of them and into another one for a few weeks.  I don’t think it has anything to do with the holiday itself, nor does it have to do with the celebration of the coming of the Christ.  No, I think it’s just a re-alignment of priorities which get us into a mood that is sometimes not very pleasant.

I’m not one to complain; I enjoy the season, the food and the fellowship; I especially am grateful for the coming of God in the flesh.  I don’t think I become frustrated or stressed out.  I’ve intentionally limited my shopping experiences during this time as well as my sense of “Gotta get this done.”  It seems to help me navigate the season with some external manifestations of joy and peace.  I don’t have to endure the comments from others more outwardly cheery than myself about being a Scrooge, and Eeyore, or questions about what may be wrong with me.

Nothing is wrong, at least in that arena.  I just don’t jump up and down with joy each time something good happens.

So, enjoy the time.  Enjoy the season.  Enjoy the goodness and mercy of God Almighty.  And understand that some of us are just a little more laid back, but enjoy those things just as much.

No Other Way

Yesterday was the sixty-eighth year that the Wichita Choral Society presented “The Messiah,” a work by G. F. Handel.  I sang in that group this year and last year, along with my sister.  Prior to that, I hadn’t sung that oratorio since high school days.  Although there were a couple of rougher spots in the mixture, all in all it was a good afternoon and a wonderful time of considering the words that were in the individual numbers.

Handel used words directly from the King James Version of the Bible for his lyrics.  He changed them very little, preferring to write the music to fit the words rather than the other way around.  The work tells of the prophetic announcements of the coming of the Messiah, His appearing incarnate and his life.  It works through his passion and finally his resurrection and the end time.

Although we didn’t do all of the parts, the presentation still lasted about two hours with a short intermission.  One of these days, I think I’d like to hear the entire oratorio and participate in its presentation.  I’d probably have to beef up, so to speak, because I’m drained at the end of the shortened performance, to say nothing of having another hour or more added to it.

I’m not in any way, shape, or form a professional singer, or even a good one.  I can follow and read music, have a good ear, and can hold my own in a large group of like-ability folks.  I thoroughly enjoy doing this and hope I can continue for a number of years yet.

But even if for some reason this happens to be the last time I sing this or any song, I have lived a rich and full life with the woman I love and the family I have traveled through life with.  It has been a great ride, and although I’m looking forward to more of the same, should something happen that prevents more from happening, I know that as Handel wrote in his famous (and some may say inspired) work, the Lord God omnipotent reigns and sits on his throne.  And because of that I can say with the Apostle Peter, when he was asked by Jesus if he and the other apostles would leave Jesus along with the others, “Lord to whom shall we go?  You have the keys (words) to eternal life.”

There is no other.  There is no alternative.  There is no plan B.  There is no other way.