It’s been a quiet few weeks for us. We have not had family come to stay or made any long trip across the country to visit anyone. We’ve hardly stepped outside our front door. It was nice. Sort of. I mean, yes, it’s lovely to just have endless time to spend with the immediate family and not be, to use one of my dad’s favourite expressions “rattin’ around” everywhere. Neither of the kids were on their best form. Iona is suffering from a build up of ear wax making her half deaf and prone to ear ache and infection. Judah had some sort of bug on Christmas Day which meant he just clung to me most of the day. So having time at home to just “do nothing” was probably best.

However in some ways, there is a bit of me that craves a little more excitement around the week. Large family gatherings and parties with friends that last late into the night…wine and flood flowing. That sort of thing. Of course to look at Facebook it would seem that everyone else is in the throws of fun and merriment, houses overflowing with guests, and traditions begin observed and revelled in. It makes me a little sad if I’m honest and I have to remind myself to not look to Facebook as an accurate picture of how everyone else’s life is.

However, sometimes a quiet non eventful Christmas is needed. Iona and Judah seem to have recovered from feeling a little off, and they seem to have bonded too. Here is where I will decline to say any more in case I give the impression that they are perfect and getting on beautifully and aren’t they wonderful? Only just saying they’ve shared some cute moments, but Judah has started that high pitched screaming thing again when anyone comes near anything he’s playing with.

Jon has been a mixture of relaxing in doing nothing and being frustrated with doing nothing. There will always be that tension. We’ve had a few good conversations though:

Middle Earth: I’ve read the Hobbit for the first time. I’ve read The Lord of the Rings, but never the Hobbit, and with the film coming out at the end of this year, I figured I’d better have it read. It’s sparked all sorts of conversations about Middle Earth which have been fun. Jon having been a fan and expert since the age of 12.

Theology: I’m reading Rob Bell’s “Love Wins” and it’s sparking a variety of conversations. I read bits out loud to Jon and see how he reacts.

Missions: Just before Christmas I had a friend come to visit. She’s been a missionary to Madagascar, and is currently working in a more professional but still missions focused role in Rwanda. It was refreshing to spend time with her and it stirred things up in me about some of my original passions and dreams. Somehow one evening I ended up talking to Jon and I mentioned Jim Elliot. I was shocked to learn Jon had never heard of him or the infamous story of Jim Elliot and his wife Elizabeth Elliot. I sat up on the couch saying “really? you don’t know???”
As I recounted the details of the story, my eyes welled up with tears and it took me by surprise as I have heard the story told a number of times from the age of 11 or 12. It was such a privilege to tell someone who’d never heard before, who I assumed knew. The tragic story of murder turned miraculous, beautiful account of grace, forgiveness, and beauty.
I will not attempt to tell it here in this blog, but if anyone is interested they can look it up.

It’s at times like that that I am so thankful for the way I grew up. I grew up being exposed to so many amazing things. Some would call it brain washing, narrow, and unrealistic. I’m sure in the midst of all the Bible clubs, Sunday School classes, youth group meetings, and youth events I went to, there were a few odd unbalanced things I heard, human opinions that were simply not Biblical, and distortions of scripture that were not the full picture. Yet….despite that, there was so much truth that made its home in my heart while I grew up, and so many amazing stories, stories that you can not argue with, testimonies that have been documented and verified, some recent, some hundreds of years old, from young, old, from people from all sorts of backgrounds, races, cultures….all who’s lives centre on the same story. The one I still believe with all my heart. The one I’m still learning about and enjoying new angles on…the one that shapes my own story, which is frequently attacked by waves of doubt and uncertainty, arguments, and oppositions….but still remains.

So casually recounting the amazing story of Jim Elliot, his wife Elizabeth, the Auca Indians, Dayuma, and Nate Saint’s Children felt like a breathe of fresh air to my soul.

Christmas always has a way of taking me back to the truth (even though I completely avoided Church this year at Christmas due to Judah’s 0 tolerance to sitting in any sort of row with something in front of him)  and the real meaning and the point of life….it’s not about how sentimental we manage to make it, (although I do love warm fuzzies), or how memorable or exciting…(which I still enjoy doing) The important thing is keeping the reality of Christmas alive in our home every day, regardless of the circumstances.

However I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’d like next year’s Christmas  to a be a little more lively I’d love to put some family up on the couch, sing more carols, and have a bit of a bash with some good friends…..;)