I'm Not Ready! ~ A new post by @ShelleyHendrix

Photo by Shelley Hendrix - All Rights Reserved

I'm Not Ready!!

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

I have never been known to be a Grinch or a Scrooge during the Holiday Season. "Normal" for me is getting my Christmas playlist loaded up and ready on November 1, watching Elf as many times as I can, and baking goodies for family and neighbors. This year is just so different and I'm just not quite my usual self.

Seeing Christmas decorations go up on the light posts in town and in your pics on social media - even before Thanksgiving Day - would normally bring a lift to my spirit and a smile to my face. But this year, I've been saying, "I'm not ready!"

Don't get me wrong. It isn't that I am not ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior. As a Christian, most of us - myself included - do this often throughout the year just as we are in continual awareness of Christ's death and resurrection. (When someone predicts His own death, burial, and resurrection -and pulls it off!- I'll be first in line to celebrate Him, hang on His every word, and follow Him all the days of my life.)

But this year is different.

And here we are. It's already December. Christmas is just around the corner. And I'm reminded of the Scripture that tells us that "life is a vapor," and that there is a "season for everything" on earth. And I remind myself that God is always present, always fully engaged, always aware, and always, always, always loving me through the days and seasons of my life. 

My soul hasn't quite caught up to my body. But I choose to trust that, even in the midst of all the changes that have come my way in 2014; and even with my less-than-holly-jolly spirit, God has a purpose in my life - and yours. May we pause, even if just for a day or a moment, to remember that Peace came to earth in the body of a fragile human infant that Christmas Day so long ago. 

I may not be ready, but Immanuel is here. And that's enough for me today. 

Merry Christmas!

Shelley Hendrix is the founder of Church 4 Chicks and lives with her husband, two of their three children, and spunky Beaglador, Annie, in St. Simons Island, GA. You can also find Shelley's website at www.ShelleyHendrix.com and the Hendrix's latest adventure at www.HeartSmartLife.com