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| Not one, not two, but three sets! I am very good at online shopping. |
I do hope this note finds you well. I miss you very much. After Christmas especially, when I could have
used a friendly face to step into the New Year.
I might as well confess December ran me over. Everything conspired against me as I
attempted to create a celebratory atmosphere of peace and joy in my home. Polar vortex 2016 and the death of my furnace
preceded the sudden and unfortunate demonic possession of my phone. Out of nowhere, my phone acquired a life of
its own and started calling people randomly.
It also cancelled a few email subscriptions, changed some settings and
almost ordered a hamster cage from Amazon.
Imagine trying to phone your family and
exchange texts through Christmas, only to find your phone is determined to hang
up on everyone you call and instead, focus on facetiming a young man you coach from speech club. Every time I unlocked the phone: it was horrifying. Doubtless, the family in question thinks I am
stalking their son and I have added several urgent conversations to my new year’s
“to do” list.
Blessedly, a technician from a local repair shop was skilled
in the art of phone exorcism and cast out the offending digitizer and set my
phone right. I wish I could report that, after the appliances
in my home started to behave normally, everything became peaceful and
sparkly. That would be lying because I
would have failed to tell you about my online shopping experience, a first for
me this year. Online shopping in my home
is done exclusively by my husband because 1. Computers and 2. Computers. When a project at work threatened to swallow
his sanity, he set me loose in the world of Amazon Prime. “Easy!”
He says. “Use my computer, I’m logged
in, shop away, it will practically do it for you.” Prophets are usually associated with long
hair, unpleasant circumstances and fiery sermons. So when my husband said those words and set
me in front of his computer, I can be forgiven for missing the irony.
Verily, verily I say unto you, my man is a prophet.
This year, I had to research my children’s Christmas gifts. UV resin, guitar capos, I was thrown into the
deep end of comparative shopping and consumer reviews. It was stressful. Imagine me, sitting at my hubby’s computer,
merrily opening windows in my Amazon Prime world, researching products and
eventually putting some of them in my basket. Now imagine that I have no idea refreshing
certain windows will update the same cart.
Then somewhere in that throw in one click shopping. Factor in my stunning ignorance and perhaps
you will begin to recreate the astonishment I felt as the delivery man kept arriving
at my door with packages containing the same or similar products. It was as if a team of evil Christmas elves decided
to send me my children’s Christmas lists daily.
The effect was stunning to both my understanding of online shopping and
the visas understanding of the family budget. I was totally mortified as I
tried to explain to my husband how I had ordered Christmas presents in
triplicate.
Sometimes, I don’t feel like I belong here.
That dear friend, takes us to the day after Christmas. I haven’t even touched the rash of celebrity
deaths, bad news from my home town, or the fact that I got confused and drank
water from a glass that contained my child’s new hex bug jellyfish. By the time new year’s hit, I limped across the
finish line. Actually, I put myself to bed at 10:50 pm cried
myself to sleep and prayed next year would be better. Have you ever visited the place where survival
usurps your celebration?
There is a lovely verse in scripture that speaks to the
place of brokenness. Even better, it
tells us what to do in this place…
For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in
the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks
are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls; yet I will
rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in
the God of my salvation! The LORD, the
Lord is my strength. He makes my feet
like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
Do you see the picture my friend? No fruit.
Failed efforts. The prosperity
gospel hasn’t got much ground here. The
only thing that counters the desolation is the will to rejoice in the face of
failure and lack. If you have been
stepped on my dear friend, and the enemy is screaming your failures can I encourage
you to thank God for something –anything?
Perhaps thinking back to when you met Jesus might inspire some
praise. Has anything good happened since
that time? Has the Lord ever saved you
from a bad decision? Forgiven you for a
sin more than once? Take the time this
week to force your mind to recount the goodness of Jesus. Though it is a tough discipline to master any
effort to rend our emotions from the throne of our hearts is worthwhile.
So I am praying for you this week my friend. That you will learn to praise God in all circumstances,
especially when your heart is sore. That
this year will bring healing, hope and courage to stand through the losses and
victories to come.
Happy New Year.
xoxKaren
