Never a Time to Complain...

...Not Even at Christmas

                Our flurry of 21^st century Christmas rituals prompt, almost demand complaining. As I did the morning chores in the crisp, cold of the early morning, I began reflecting on my own complaining this week. Strangely, I heard voices of yesteryear in my mind.

                The words “I’ll just be glad to stay at home” echoed in my memory from earlier this week. Then this morning, I recalled Esther Garrett, a dear friend who has gone on, telling Mother after her first stroke, “I’ve got to have my wheels.” Her independence to hop in her car and go whenever she wanted meant more than almost anything else at that juncture of her life. Yet here I was complaining about that personal freedom.

Junior and Merlene Morris, Esther Garrett, Harvey Myers
at the Adult Banquet at the Ralston Baptist Church in 1990. 
Cassandra Pearman and Shealia Dilbeck are in the background 
on the right of the photograph.

                Each season on the farm has its own necessary daily work. I understand better than ever why we never had more than a day trip as a vacation when Angie and I were growing up. Recently, complaints welled up within me. Then I heard the voice of Mrs. Hill, who had been my neighbor in Fairfax, Oklahoma, in the 1980s. She and her husband were in their 80s, and she was confined to home. (She cooked sitting on a stool near her stove, depending on Mr. Hill to hand her the ingredients as needed. She said he would often say, “You don’t need that.” Whereupon, she retorted, “How much cooking have you done?”) One day I swished over to visit Mr. and Mrs. Hill and voiced how tired I was of working long hours with the planning and grading demands of teaching. She replied gently to me, “Oh honey, just be thankful you can get up and go to work.” Recalling her words reminded me to give thanks for the strength and opportunity to work and accomplish something – whether day-to-day tasks or those responsibilities unique to Christmas.

                Many opportunities on my schedule over the last month will never come again – at least not quite in the way they occurred this December 2017. Dad would frequently say, “It’s one-time through.” I thought of Christmas programs I attended or in which I participated. Those events will never present themselves in the same way they did this year. Dad was implying a 21^st century phrase “Be present.” Only active, wholehearted involvement will bring lasting meaning to the event, whether a family get-together or a Christmas performance.

                Finally, when my frustration erupted over demands on my time and attention, I heard my mother’s quoting of I Corinthians 13:4, “Love suffers long and is kind.” (Sometimes she quotes a newer translation – “Love is patient and kind.”) She delighted in saying laughingly, “It may be easy to suffer long but to be kind while suffering long can be another story!”
                Being present and remaining patient and kind  is tested usually in our interpersonal relationships. Choosing to be attentive during conversations with family members may be one of the most sacrificial gifts one can give this year. Terse exchanges may occur amid the stress of Christmas celebrations. Patience enveloped in kindness can provide an atmosphere of peace and harmony that will be a priceless gift to the matriarch and even patriarch of the family.
                           

                Christmas is a reminder of how God’s love for humans propelled Him to send His Son, God in human form, into the world filled with sin so foreign to the heavenly realm. Yet it wasn’t just for a short visit, but he lived on earth from His birth until His death, sentenced to die for considering Himself equal with God. Once again, God had a higher plan than the sinister execution concocted by humans who were enraged by the perfection of Jesus in stark contrast to human depravity. Their evil scheming allowed the Perfect Son of God to die for imperfect humans to restore them to a right relationship with their Creator and Sustainer. I pray for an awareness and the will to replace my complaining with the thought of God’s wonderful Gift of Jesus coupled with a rehearsal of the blessings of the Christmas season – the ability to go and be where I want and need to be, the strength and willingness to work, the focus to live in the present, knowing it will never return, and the empowerment from the Holy Spirit to be both patient and kind in my relationships.

Merry Christmas