I woke up late this morning after midnight shopping for Christmas. We started out on Thanksgiving night to get some Doorbuster deals. I went against my convictions that families should be together on Thanksgiving, to get the special offer.
As I entered the stores the buzz of excitement was in the air. Five dollar sock bins and extra-large game sets lined the aisle marked off for the crowd to walk through, this is America, the land that I love. For me to try to separate from the culture literally takes getting on a plane and serving in a 3rd world country. It is only then that I gain perspective that we have all we need and still want more. The rest of the world does not think like we do.
As I woke up this morning with a dull ache in my heart, I realized that what I really long for is a connection with my family, reconciliation with some friends, and peace with God. No matter how many cool things I eyed last night or smart gadgets I carried in my cart, my heart remained in want.
Sitting on the guest bed in my husband’s parent’s house, I thought of all the lovely moments we have had as a family. I am thankful that I have been grafted into the Singleton clan. I am thankful to see how both Brad and his brother have become loving fathers and honorable sons to their worthy parents.
I remember the loving arms of his Grandma Singleton. She lived down the road from Brad’s parents in a small white house on the other side of the cornfield that separated the two homesteads. On our way home we would always pull up her drive so she could kiss each one of us goodbye. Leaning into our cramped child packed van, her soft arms and wet kiss communicated her love for each of us. This was her last goodbye, as we pulled out of her driveway and down the long country road to the highway.
I think of the hospitable kindness of Brad’s only living grandmother, Mary Stephens as she offers us a soda or a piece of fudge on our visits. A mother of six children of her own and many grandchildren, still she treats each one of us as if we are the only grandchild she has. In her ninety years, she has blessed many lives with her kindness and hospitality.
I think of the beautiful sister in law, Brad’s brother’s wife, who has raised two girls that are smart and funny and reflect her silly humor. I think of Aunt Debbie’s crazy laugh and the fun we shared at the holiday game nights together. I think of Aunt Jane and Uncle Bruce’s love, humor, prayers, and support as we have journeyed through the ministry. I smile as I think of the many cousins I have talked with, prayed with, and played games within these eighteen years we have been wed.
Such memories are why we travel through hectic traffic to spend a few precious hours with this group called family. It is what really matters in life. It is what we hang all the happy memories upon. I am thankful that God gave me not one but two families. I am doubly blessed and it doesn’t take any new gadgets to make this blessing more real, or more tangible. All it really takes to actualize the joy I feel is to say, Thank you.
I know I am still standing because of the prayers of my mother and father in law. At times in their lives they have lost sleep praying and listening to the Lord on our behalf, thank you. For Emily and Aaron they have supplied friendship and inspiration in the way they live their lives, thank you. For Brad’s Cousin Brian and his pretty wife Christina who have inspired us by their faith and passion for the gospel, thank you. For Aunts and Uncles and cousins that have filled in the gaps with their wisdom, prayers, hilarious stories and faithful concern, thank you. I love all of you and I just realized today how much you truly mean to me.
Putting down the wallet, and the store ads and picking up the pen I have instantly lifted my own heart from a credit card depression to a mirthful state of contentment. My life is full of precious people that have made a difference through the simple things: a pie, a hug, a crocheted doily and an open-hearted acceptance. I am thankful today not for the many things I have but the people I can’t live without.
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