Saturday, April 19, 2014

Holidays

Six Christmases and five Easter's later I still want to curl up in a ball and disappear until the holiday is over.  Somehow I thought that with the passing of time, holidays in a foreign country without family would get better...it hasn't.


Christmas with sweat dripping off your forehead and the thought of adding more heat by baking cookies?  No thanks!


Easter in the fall with no new spring dresses and no ham dinner?  What!?


Days like these I watch my culture run head on into the culture I am living in, and I don't like it one bit.  I want my white Christmas sipping hot chocolate with marshmallows in it.  I want my ham dinner with asparagus for Easter. 


Today Myla noticed a girl taking pictures of herself with her cel phone.  I told her it was the new fad, selfies.  Then I told her, but really it just says, all I think about is me. 


My selfie is coming through strong and clear this Easter Eve.  All I am thinking about is me and what I want and what I am missing out on. 


The truth is none of it matters one bit in light of eternity. 
 
The truth is, my sacrifice of the comforts of my culture are hardly a sacrifice worth mentioning. 
 
The truth is I need to get my focus off myself and onto my Lord and Saviour who gave me
 LIFE.



Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross.

Philippians 2:5-8

1 comment:

Tim and Vicki Reiner said...

I prayed for you and your hubby this morning early and here I am a little more in tune with you. Thank you for sharing these thoughts.

We have been missionaries for near 35 years and I still have those feelings creep up on me esp. during holidays. Tim came back home and has never really understood why I am so pensive at these times.

At this age, even returning to the states and family does not make a big difference. Sure I can enjoy the holiday stuff and some of the things I miss. But what I miss the most is what I experienced as a child, the special things my parents did that I tried to replicate with my own children. I cannot return to that as hard as I try.

It's healthy to remember and to indulge that grieving and then move on to other things. Just know you are thinking clearly when you turn away from self into God's Presence. It is a gift He gave to us and we can keep giving it back to Him.

He also left Home for awhile. And then, a miracle happened and He was Home again! He did that for us and we will have eternity to thank Him!!!

-Vicki Reiner