Sifting

I decided not to write to you about our clogged up sink and leaking toilet (I think they have been trying to fix that for a year…) or the fact that we have no internet at the house and leaks in our ceiling, and a rat in the rafters (or some other creature that keeps banging around at night)- instead I thought I would show you what we have been doing to ignore that stuff and enjoy this Christmas season.  We told the kids that our focus this year would not be on getting presents.  I wanted us all to focus instead on how we could bless others.  What we could give away.  So we made poppy seed bread, pumpkin muffins, homemade caramels, cocoa mixes, cookies, pies, cards etc. and made delivery after delivery to EVERYONE, well, almost everyone.  IT was a lot of work, but it was a great family lesson.

Present time was very different this year than years past.  I remember always counting the gifts to make sure that everyone had the same amount and making sure that the pile looked BIG.  This year the kids only opened a few things-mostly stuff they could enjoy together:  a basketball to share, drawing pads with paints and markers, and a few other things my family sent.  It was beautiful!  We took turns reading the Christmas story from Matthew and Luke.  The kids all wrote a letter to God that was their gift to Him, we talked about the true meaning of Christmas…I felt like I have been missing out in years past by getting caught up in the hype of having to make each Christmas bigger and better and the gifts as well.  It reminded me of when I am baking here and I have to sift my flour to get all the weevils and worms out.  It is a pain to do but in the end I get out all  the stuff that shouldn’t be there, and end up with only what I need.  That is what we did this year with our Christmas.  We sifted out all the stuff that didn’t need to be there, and just loved what was left.

Here’s to sifting.

Rachel