Why

Yep, why.

I'm sitting here in my sewing room this morning.  Soft music playing in the background.  A radiant pink orange blaze trimmed the curtains.  I pull a corner back and take in the sunrise of a new day.  A new day of grace.

The past couple days have been a bit messy and I am pondering why.

I set myself up you know....with tv and postcard scenes in my mind, the trimming of the tree never has played out quite exactly how I have built it up to be.  It was a bit easier when the kids were all small.  Their excitement!  Handing out the ornaments, one by one.  They burst with happiness!  Hanging them on heavy low branches.....

Maybe this is what I miss??

It sure beats the teenager grumbles and husband snoring in the recliner, that was last year.

I want JOY, SMILES, those GIGGLES!  {Trimmed with some soft Christmas music, the crackle of the fire and a warm cup of coffee in my hand, you know....}

But this is real life and in real life comes many seasons, so why get so grumpy when the postcard image doesn't play out?   Why allow it to steal my joy?   And you know how it rolls when mamma's not happy....

This year {though two teenagers still grumbled} we DID have a seven year old get up at THREE AM because he was so excited to "build the tree" and as Natalie and I tended to the horses, the two youngest built it together to surprise me.

My heart spilled over.

It is all just a reminder how we can build up expectations and then when things don't pan out...it's steals all of our joy, smiles and giggles.

As we head into Advent, my heart desires to only expect the expectation of His coming....and as I sit and ponder THAT this morning>> when I switch my focus to HIM...everything else simply falls into place.

xo, Tina