The Sweetest Gift

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love."  1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV

Is it just me or, does anyone else get the "day after Christmas" blues?  Several weeks of decorations, lights, holiday smells, and music; all leading up to one joyous day of love spent with family then, "That's it?"  In a blink of an eye, that bountiful meal is over.  The moments of watching the kids tear open their presents, done.  The gathered family has returned home.  Moments now turned into memories.

This Christmas was especially heart-filled for me.  My mother and step-dad flew into town to spend a few days with us and enjoy the grandkids.  Nothing pleased me more than having this Christmas spent with my wife and children, along with having Grandma and Pops here.  

My wife went above and beyond to make sure everyone was just as comfortable as possible.  She was determined to make this a wonderful Christmas visit and she succeeded!  Our days were spent with Christmas music and movies (The Santa Clause and Home Alone), games, and plenty of good food.  We spent many moments gathered around the living room, sipping on coffee and wassail, chatting or engaging with the kids.  Each moment was beautiful and could not have turned out any better.  While I did have some VERY nice presents that I opened on Christmas morning, they were mere trinkets that couldn't hold a candle to the real gift.  The only present that I needed was having all that family together.  That's a present that needs no wrapping paper or shiny bows.  I remember the lines of a poem that my Granny used to recite.  One line sums it best:  I am drinking from a saucer, for my cup has overflowed.

To all my readers:  I hope that you and your families had a blessed Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Life Out There...

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible."  Hebrews 11:3 

I love science fiction! Anyone who knows me, knows that concept. I'm also a dreamer of real possibilities, of reaching beyond what is right in front of us. God created the universe, with all of it's galaxies, solar systems, and planets. Alpha Centauri, is the closest solar system, to us, making it's binary stars (suns) the closest stars to us, except for our own sun, of course. What's it like in that system, I wonder, sometimes. Is there another "earth"? Other civilizations out there? It's hard to imagine that we represent the ONLY life in the entire expanse. 

I will never be the captain of a new ship, capable of faster than light speed, to explore "strange, new worlds". I won't be aboard a massive station, in "neutral space" where diverse species will meet. I'm not a half-human, half-alien, with two hearts, traveling around, with a robotic dog, eating "jelly-babies", to other regions. Nor, am I from a system trying to find the mythical "earth" after the massive destruction of my own system. (If you caught all of these, give yourself a pat on the back!)

Regardless of who or what is out there, I remember one thing. God took the time, in ALL of this, to create a little speck like me. In all His continued watch over everything that He created, He still is able to tend to me, personally.

When you put things in that perspective, how can you not just say, "WOW!"