Marilyn's Mussings

Someone asked me this morning if we had a good Christmas. I said yes but it threw me somewhat because I'm still anticipating! My kids aren't home yet. They are both on the way and we will have our family celebration tomorrow. So much of Christmas is surrounded by anticipation and expectation. At it's climax, the whole world celebrates who we as Christians celebrate every day. Jesus Christ. Then it's over. How strange. I wonder if anyone received the Christ-child for the first time during the Christmas season. I wonder if the attitude and disposition of the general public is any different after Christmas than it was on December 24. I wonder how any of us can remain unchanged after such a celebration. By huge contrast, the season before the first Christmas was not surrounded by anticipation and expectation. Jesus' birth went virtually unnoticed by the world. Only a very few understood that the Messiah had come, but His birth brought irreversibly change to the live

Yes, I am being a little melodramatic. Yes, I have done a little bit of whining. No, it's not really a foreign land. It's just Birmingham! I am a girl that loves tradition and Christmas seems to be the time of year that screams the loudest for "same-ness" in my life. A few days ago Mother and I were in the car and she said "I just wish I had something familiar." She is struggling to hold onto the familiar but I also related to what she was saying. It is exciting to be at a new place. Everything is fresh and a wide open adventure. But meshing the old with the new is sometimes difficult. Even small things like decorating for Christmas is a challenge. Some stuff doesn't have a place, some stuff doesn't fit in, and some stuff needs a special place.   But isn't that the nature of life? Always changing. Always dealing with change. Some traditions we take with us everywhere we go, some we leave behind. The important ones we keep. Christmas is abo