Tis the Season!

Do you begin decorating for Christmas before or after Thanksgiving?

I have to be honest…

I always decorate for Christmas early, which means I begin decorating a week or two before Thanksgiving!

Please hear me…I love Thanksgiving…and I love decorating for fall…

But there is something so magical about Christmas decorations!

Maybe it is the…

Decorated porches…garnished with garland and lights…welcoming each guest to step through the doors of the home!

Possibly it is the bright lights on the Christmas tree…filling the room with a warm glow…making you feel cozy and welcomed?

Maybe it is the stockings hanging from the fireplace mantle!

Could it be the lighted candles that fill our homes with a Christmas scent of pine trees or cinnamon spice?

Or the nativity scenes displayed throughout our homes…providing us an opportunity to gaze upon baby Jesus in the manager?

Or, maybe it is the smell of fresh-baked cookies…cooling on the counter…tantalizing our senses…inviting us to sample each type of cookie

Or is it just the little girl in me that loves this season, encouraging me to decorate early each year!

Whatever the reason…I love this season of the year!

And this year is just a little more special!

We purchased a different home last summer…

A home that had been neglected…

A home that needed lots of tender, loving care…

A home that needed so much attention…it was hard to know where to start!

A home that didn’t really feel like a home yet!

We started by tackling the kitchen!

By tackling…I mean, we removed the old flooring…took out all of the kitchen cabinets…and removed all appliances!

It was sparse…and the room looked much worse before it began to look better!

The old tile floor was replaced with new, hardwood flooring!

Old oak cabinets were replaced with elegant, maple cabinets!

Outdated counter tops were replaced with beautiful granite countertops!

New, stainless steel appliances were installed!

A backsplash was chosen that tied it all together!

Fresh paint…an area rug…and the room was transformed!

This wasn’t the only room that was tackled!

The family room…bedrooms, laundry room and foyer all received a fresh coat of paint right before Thanksgiving!

So you can imagine how excited I was to add Christmas decorations to a house that had been so neglected!

I was anxious to add little decorating touches that would make it more than just a house…it would make it our home!

A home where all that walked through the doors would feel welcomed…and loved!

A home where family and friends can gather…fellowship…laugh…and make memories!

And though the home is still a work in progress…I’m excited about the transformation that is starting to take place!

But as I gaze around each room…this home is not the only thing/one in need of a transformation!

I need a transformation as well!

If I am completely honest, I haven’t handled the remodeling project very well!

I have been grumpy…irritable…I have complained and grumbled when things were not progressing as quickly as I hoped they would!

I was tired of looking at an empty kitchen…unpainted walls…areas that needed repaired!

And if I am completely honest, I wasn’t being thankful for all that we had!

I was only looking at what was right before me…what needed down…what wasn’t finished!

I wasn’t looking ahead…I was having trouble picturing how the home would look once projects were completed!

I only saw a house that needed so much attention…it was overwhelming at times!

And I realized…what if Jesus looked at me that way?

What if he looked at me just as I am right now…grumpy…irritable…complaining…unthankful…a sinner…

What if that was all Jesus saw?

What if he only looked at my flaws…the broken areas in my life…all my sins…?

What if He chose to turn away from the mess that I am…instead of continuing to work in and through me?

But praise God!

Jesus looks at me…looks at all of us with His eyes….He looks at us with hope…hope of all that we can become! 

And He wraps His loving arms around us…molding and shaping us into His image…transforming us into all that we can be!

He doesn’t give up…He just wraps His arms around us…gently repairing the brokenness!

Making us beautiful!

And He smiles as he gazes down upon His work!

And I was reminded…just as we have a home that still needs some tender loving care...so do I!

And though the transformation in our home is not complete…I need to see it with new eyes…eyes that see it not as it is right now…but of what it will be in the future!

Dear Heavenly Father…transform me…make me more and more like you each day!  Help me to view all that is around me with your eyes…eyes that see past the ugliness…but see the beauty of what is yet to come!