Ahhhh.

Christmas is over,

New Year’s is past

Maybe we can be normal at last.  

During the “holidays”,  we tried to focus and remember the Reason for the Season, but it seemed as if our life kicked into “extreme crazy” instead of “normal crazy”. 

 Does your life ever do that? 

  I guess I define

normal crazy

as an acceptable

amount of problems within a 24 hour period.

(whatever that number might be 🙂 )

I think we somehow morphed into “extreme crazy.”   

Over the last two weeks, besides finishing shopping, cooking, cleaning, decorating, caroling, putting on a children’s Christmas program, we’ve also experienced our garbage disposal seizing up, a  kitchen sink that was backed up with stinky water for 36 hours that we kept relentlessly plunging because we didn’t want to pay a plumber, the dishwasher refusing to drain while I fixed endless meals for 18 people while company was here, a fire in our microwave (yes- flames and all), my husband getting attacked by a dog while he was riding his bike, my eighty-four year old father undergoing cataract surgery, my  mother-in-law experiencing a myriad of medical problems accompanied with pain and anxiety, two sore throats, my husband’s car water pump cracked to render his car undriveable, my minivan door breaking so we have to climb in from the other side to drive it, our daughter wrecked and totaled her mini-van and is now trying to decide what to do (thankfully, no one was hurt), juggling relationships at Christmas with divorce and some strained relationships,  dealing with guilt that I didn’t seem to have time to reach out to our siblings who all live in different states, feeling ashamed I didn’t reach out to our neighbors with the glad tidings of Christmas, and I’m thankful to say- that through all of it- we noticed and even experienced-

          that Jesus reigns!  

 In the good times and the bad, the “normal” crazy and the “extreme” crazy, we have a Savior who understands.  He is Emmanuel- God with us- not just at Christmas but in the all of our crazy times.  And even better than that- He takes those crazy times and produces perseverance and maturity in our lives!

 Surprising Treasure-  James 1: 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, BECAUSE you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance!