My Angel is Watching Over Me

For as long as I remember I was "Grammie's Little Angel."
Everyone knew it-my family and my friends.

She was always there
When my parents couldn't be,
When my life seemed to be falling apart,
In my successes and
In my sadness.

She was there
          to protect me, to love me and to care for me like no one else.

We watched movies together on a Friday night,

We ate Almond Roca and chocolate covered cherries,
We went shopping together on a Saturday afternoon,
And I packed it up to go home on Sunday.

We talked, we laughed, we cried.
         She told me stories of my grandfather I never met and my parents when they met.
         She remembered the day I was born and loved to tell me about it.

She was my safe place, I trusted her with my thoughts, my tears and my heart.
         She loved me back without condition.

She was there.
From junior high band concerts to cheering at a high school football game,
She never missed a moment.
When I danced on the football field with the drill team,
When I fell in love and when my heart broke.
When I got my first job,
When I needed to get away from home,
When I graduated,
And when I got married.

She taught me to drive,
She made my prom dress,
She helped me buy my first car and my first house.

And then one day it all changed...
I have missed her for a long time
I have missed her sarcasm and her honesty
I have missed sharing my life with her as an adult
And have missed talking, laughing, crying with her when the disease took her from me.

Hope stayed in my heart, hope she would remember and return
And I would still be "Grammie's Little Angel" one day.
We could catch up and I could comb her hair and she could tell me how proud she was of me.

But now she is gone and I only have a memory.
I miss her still and more than ever but I know
She is now my Angel and I can look forward to dancing with her in heaven.

"No more pain, no more sadness

No more suffering, no more tears

No more sin, no more sickness

No injustice, no more death

There is joy everlasting

There is gladness, there is peace

There'll be wine ever flowing

There's a wedding, there's a feast"

Matt Redman, "Because of You, There's a Place"

God is Here

This morning, while reading I came across Billy Graham's words and was reminded of why we celebrate this season. 

Truly, God works in mysterious ways. The wheels of His mercy and justice move quietly, but they do move. The birth of Jesus Christ — the Son of God, our Savior — went unnoticed by the vast majority of the world that first Christmas night, but no event in human history was more significant. May His birth — and all it means — not go unnoticed in our lives! -Billy Graham

Unfortunately, in the midst of a busy season, we get distracted by shopping and dinners and parties and we forget why we are so busy. Sometimes we build great traditions only to make them become burdens with the craziness of the days before Christmas. In the sprint and fun of the season, baking cookies, wrapping presents and dressing up for parties, let us not forget the real reason for the celebration of giving and the activity that is occurring in our lives today. 

God came as an innocent child to save us and he came quietly. He came to save us from death and give us eternity, yet we are too busy to notice. When a baby is born we get excited. We want to hold him, touch her or just simply stare at the wonder of the life that has been given to us. Let us get excited for the miraculous birth that is Jesus. Let us love one another in the way He loved us, enough to come miraculously and give sacrificially. It truly is a miracle to celebrate!