"Whatever it Takes!"

"Whatever it Takes!"

“Christmas, Christmas time is here! Time for toys and time for cheers!” If you sang that instead of read it, your probably sang it in your best Alvin and the Chipmunks’ voice. But nevertheless, it is the most wonderful time of the ………. ok ok I’ll stop with the “traditional” Christmas song references.

But yes!!! This is my Holiday! I love all things Christmas! Getting to spend time with friends and family that you don’t always see, can be a breeding ground for amazing memories. With my family, you probably come close to peeing yourself at least once from laughing so hard. We play hard, but we love harder so Christmas is our season!

My husband and I made a pact once we got married and started having babies, that we would rotate the holidays with our families (our families live about 8 hours apart). We are determined to make this work as much as we possibly can so it is fair to everyone! So this year for example, we did Thanksgiving with my family so yesterday we drove to Lexington. TN to spend time with his family. Then we will rotate it next year and keep switching back and forth as much as we can. We currently have a 2.5 year old and a 6 month old so we want everyone to get to love on them as much as possible! So far we’ve been pretty successful. Last year, I was unable to make the Thanksgiving trip with my husband and son because of my then job, but I encouraged them to go on and make the trip so we wouldn’t bend our arrangement.

This is our first Christmas traveling a long distance with 2 kids!  We obviously prepared to make as many stops as we have to and even factored in a little leg break at Walmart to get us out of the car. For the most part it’s been fairly smooth. I’m currently still nursing our 6 month old (who refuses a bottle) so we arranged the car seats to where I would be able to sit with the baby and soothe him better. My husband is a beast!!!!!! And normally drives the entire trip! But every once in a while he needs help! (Especially when we were up until 3am packing for the trip.) So I took over the captain duties for a little while to let him catch some zzzzzz’s. About an hour and a half later, traffic comes to a complete stop on one of the parts of the interstate that has no exits near by. And as any nursing mother could guess what this next line will say…… the baby woke up and was beyond ready to eat!

*dun dun dun*

So my husband starts moving the things out of the extra seat in the back to make room and as soon as we got a moment where we completely were stopped,I threw the car in park and we ran around the car to switch places. My husband jumped in the driver's seat and I got in the back with the boys so I could take care of business! I’m sure to everyone who was stuck with us, we looked a little silly or crazy but we did what we had to do for our son’s best interests!

Looking back on this moment from yesterday made me think of this passage of scripture :

““And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:9-13‬ ‭NLT‬

(I typed this in red lettering because these were Jesus’ words recorded by Luke.)

In what could have been a moment of frustration and misery for our 6 month old baby, we his parents worked it out for his benefit. He asked(cried) and we immediately began maneuvering things around to get him what he needed. It may have taken a little longer than he wanted and he had to wait for a minute but his parents moved on his behalf.

The Bible instructs us in the above mentioned scriptures to Ask, seek, and Knock. Your job is to act first and then sit back and watch God work it out. God is the ultimate Father! It may take a little longer than you were expecting it to, you may not see Him working, you may not feel like anything is changing, but don’t give up and don’t lose hope because in the perfect time you will see exactly what God has done for you! He will always work it all out for you! He will never forsake you but you have to continue to trust Him and have faith that He will move!

Losing hope doesn’t make you pitiful, but it actually renders you powerless. If you feel like you are sinking in the sea of unbelief and doubt, shift your focus. Don’t get so caught up on the mundane things that this life can bring you and instead press through into bigger and better things. 2018 is almost over……. Don’t make the same mistake in 2019. Get your life back! Do better! Love harder! Be who God has called you to be!