This Christmas season is filled with new lessons , even for an old ladu.  I used to have a fireplace mantel in my old house.  My “new” old house didn’t come with one, so I had to do a bit of adjusting to my Christmas decorating this year.  The stockings are now hung by the washer and drier, rather than the chimney.  My collection of hand carved Santas remain in an unopened box somewhere in our garage and will have to wait until next year to be displayed.  In the past I’ve spent time in rehearsals, so getting my tree and house decorated didn’t occur until the week before the actual holiday.

This year, I have most of my tree trimming, cookie baking, house adornments done.  The lesson for me – I’ve spent too many hours working rather than enjoying the beauty of Christmas.

When my time was so consumed with teaching, I tried to use those teachable moments .  I remember rehearsing yet another Christmas pageant. Several of the cast were obviously thinking about other things.

Those little darlings fidgeted as we talked about sin.  They giggled at their Bible costumes. We talked about how long those Israelites waited for a Savior and how they almost gave up.  They tugged at their head coverings and tried to dismantle their props.  One shepherd complained that he didn’t have the right costume and by the time our talk concluded, he no longer was wearing it.

We talked about patience. At that point mine was wearing thin.  I wondered why they don’t close down school for the month of December.  Those little minds certainly weren’t focused on learning.

Then it hit me.  My impatience wasn’t allowing me to enjoy the beauty in all of this.  We all need a Savior no matter what our age – we don’t deserve to be forgiven, but we have a gracious God who loves us anyway – we are all impatient for Christmas.

So as the angels spoke about getting ready for the Savior with their halos tilted to one side; the sheep talked about how much better David’s singing was then their current caretakers; the shepherds meandered all over the stage rather than pretending to sleep – I listened to my inner voice tell me how imperfect everyone is and  how much we need Jesus.

Lord, please give me patience – right now!!