Christmas Card Tradition

Christmas cards have always been a big deal for me.  Ever since I was a little girl, I loved getting Christmas cards in the mail -- and sending them to my family & friends as well.  My Mother always stacked our cards in this Santa holder ...

 

 

I remember always looking to see how many cards came in the mail for us & who had sent them! One of my favorite things I did with my Mother as a child was to make Christmas baskets out of old Christmas cards.  My Mother was always so creative (and still is) ... and we would make some of these baskets to gift away to some ladies in our little community.  We filled them with candy canes and little special touches such as mints, handkerchiefs, bookmarks, etc.

 

Mother would write on the bottom of the basket the year we made them ... the one on the left is one that she made me in 1972 (American flags have always been my favorite!) ... and the little one on the right I actually made in 1974 when I was 10 years old.  And they've been kept all this time ... along with several others I have.  And I have a mountain of cards that I have saved over the years -- and now they will be used in crafting projects and quite possibly be re-gifted to someone who will find the pleasure in the simplicity of mine and my Mother's tradition from my childhood.  Sometimes it's the smallest of things that we remember and that we treasure for a lifetime.

 

You know, this was not the post that I had intended to write today.  My thoughts have been all over the board today as I have worked to clean out rooms and closets ... and to create Dan his music space so that he can have a special place to unwind after long work days.  But God has shown me something that I've been missing until just about 5 minutes ago (literally -- even as I wrote these words, I had no idea where this post would take me) ...

 

Dan & I have put our "downsizing" plans on hold until after tax season next year ... we will continue to get some much needed projects done & maintenance that has been put off for a while.  But we've taken the pressure off of having our house on the market by next spring.  And although I still have a bit of work in front of me with organizing, painting, clearing out, etc ... I simply do not need to complete any more house projects in the next 2 weeks that lead to Christmas. 

 

 

 

I simply need to slow down a little and just take life a moment at a time ...

and celebrate His coming as the little baby who gave us hope for life eternal.

 

And so, my friends, my simple prayer for you is this ...

 

may these next 2 weeks before Christmas find you looking in your hearts for Him ...

the little baby who is our Hope and our Peace and our Comfort ...

who is coming again to give us eternal life with Him.

 

As we treasure our Christmas traditions of the past

may we always find the Baby Jesus in our Christmas present

so that all the generations that follow us will seek Him in Christmas futures