Merry Christmas!

A couple weeks ago, God gave me a story about how the birth of Jesus was probably not like Mary had imagined. I wrote a short fiction piece about it, and the title was This Isn't What I Imagined. Little did I know He was preparing me for the upcoming holiday!

So glad God gave me perspective on a much larger scale, because quite honestly, our Christmas has not been at all like we imagined. The storm that hit on my birthday (the 20th) and cancelled all birthday plans has hung around. Living on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming is sometimes like living in a time warp...

The storm that the rest of life experienced five days ago and have simply moved on from, just blows and settles into a new snow storm each day due to the wild wind here.

We haven't had any snow melt, and these conditions on a ranch make it extremely difficult to feed the cattle. So, we are still battling the two feet of snow and massive drifting. I say we, but I am inside with all the children while my hard working husband does the labor!

So, several times today as I have felt tearful to be away from my family, where we had planned to be, I imagined how Mary felt even worse to be away from her family!

When I wished this could be a memorable holiday for the kids doing the fun holiday traditions, I tried to imagine how Mary felt as a young mom putting her new baby in a feed bunk and laying him in the hay. I am sure she wished different for him.

No, it has not been the holiday we imagined, but we still have a lot to be thankful for. Thankfully we can be together as a family (when my husband gets done working) and can all be safe together in our own warm home!

Merry Christmas!