Close your eyes for a moment (Unless of course you are driving!) and imagine a house decorated for Christmas. Now, imagine all of that condensed into the space of an apartment. Yikes! Wow! And yet somehow Nana manages to make it look adorable.
“Are we decorating today?†Mom asked me excitedly this morning. After gently explaining that it would be afternoon due to my appointments in the morning, she settled back down to her tv programs.
When I walked back in after lunch and asked if she was ready to decorate, her eyes lit up brighter than LED Christmas lights!
We had begun decorating a couple of days ago, so it wasn’t all done just today. We had 14 boxes of Christmas decorations (3 were mine, the rest were all hers)!
Nana absolutely loves decorating for every holiday, but Christmas she’s a bit over the top! The energy and enthusiasm coming off of her was practically visable!
It was so cute to hear her pop up singing ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’ over and over periodically throughout the afternoon (neither of us knew the rest of the words). We would look at each other and laugh and open another box.
She would then go into stories of how she’s rubbed off on my brother Alan and his wife Kim so much, because they do a lot of decorating for Christmas too.
“Maybe it is because my birthday is the same month, that I love Christmas so much. Or maybe it is because it is Jesus’ birthday. Whatever it is, I just love Christmas, don’t you?!†She would ask me.
I would smile and sometimes stop to hug her, sometimes just nod and agree.
I will be honest, because of the daunting stack of boxes, I would often slide into ‘task mode’. Sometimes I had to battle to stay in the moment and enjoy the smile in her eyes and the joy on her face. I am so glad that I did. I am so thankful that I decided to make decorating with my mom a priority. The pleasure that glows on her face when I walk into her room as she excitedly shows me how festive her room is, well, that’s priceless.
I am blessed to have my mom living with me and to have these precious moments.
Not everyone has that, but we all do have chances to make someone else’s wishes a priority. When was the last time that you interrupted your agenda to slip in something that showed value to another? Often times it is actually simple and only may take a brief section of our time; which can also make it just as easy to overlook.
I challenge you, this holiday season, to consider giving of yourself to someone else. Show them how much they mean to you by giving one of our most precious commodities – time.
The smile you put on their face may be worth more than money can buy. I know mom’s is to me.
I wish you a Very Merry Christmas and may you feel the love of Jesus in everything you do.
Merry Christmas, Amy
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