When times are tough it’s difficult for me to remember the blessings I’ve received. Sometimes I get so caught up in the here and now that I simply get tunnel vision. With stress, I tend to get focused in on what is causing that stress ignoring the bigger picture of my life. It could be finances, school, work, any of a hundred different causes.
I’m sure that I’m not the only one guilty of this…right?
My wife and I have built into the rhythm of our year a time to remember how good our lives actually are. We have a tradition with our Christmas tree. Every year we get at least one tree ornament to remember what we did that year. These ornaments memorialize our children’s births, family vacations, memorable moments etc. My wife keeps a list in our ornament box that tells a brief history of each of one including the year, location of purchase, and event.
Here is part of our list with the ornament and what we remember.
60 Watt Light Bulb- Our first year dating.
Flowers- Our wedding.
Sandals- Hawaii Vacation.
Bottle Opener- Visit to Wittenberg.
Pinocchio- Visit to Rome .
Boat- Baltimore trip.
Cornhusk Angel- Guatemala trip
Girl Pregnant- Jess was pregnant with our first child.
Denver Mint- Colorado Vacation.
When Christmas rolls around and we decorate our tree, we pull out our trusty box of ornaments and begin to remember.
We remember our very first Christmas together when I pull out the 60watt light bulb with “Our first Christmas” written on it.
We remember our trips around the world.
We remember the births of our children.
We remember the year we couldn’t take a vacation because I was doing Clinical Pastoral Education at Children’s Hospital.
But most of all we remember how the incarnate God, born in a manger, has blessed us with more than we need even when times are tough.
So, how do you remember?
-jpserrano