It's no secret that my heart has been a little less light and jolly this Christmas than in past years. I have allowed the season to stress me instead of enjoying it. I have focused on a lack of ideas for gifts, and the shuffle to make sure the piles for the kids are even, that we have appropriate gifts for our parents that accurately reflect how much we appreciate them. And in doing all of that, I have gotten way off track. Well...somehow God always knows when we need a reset, and He gave it to me last week at the kids' Christmas program at school. Typically, these programs are just a compilation of some Christmas music that the kids have worked on in school. It's always enjoyable, but this year was really special. The kids performed what I can only describe as a mini-cantata, with a drama piece and some fantastic music as well. Joshua had been selected, based on his audition for the spring musical, to play one of the parts in the show, and we had been practicing his lines for a few weeks. I didn't really get the whole idea, though, until the night of the show.
The story was about a local Christmas tree lot, and the people who worked there. There was a business owner who had rented out one of his lots for the sale of these trees who only seemed to be focused on the material side of Christmas. But the kids delivered the Gospel through their parts, and brought anyone in that auditorium back to a realization of what Christmas is and what it isn't. Josh performed his heart out, with a whole bunch of speaking parts, motions and a solo even. He got to perform with one of his best friends from his class, and the two of them were really fun to watch. Some have even commented after the fact that they stole the show. It was extra special to be able to see Lauren and Josh up there together for the first time. And that sweet girl of ours was just singing her little heart out for Jesus. She knew every motion and every word.
Needless to say, the whole thing was a start into getting my heart right to be able to celebrate Christmas the right way this year. Not only were we proud parents of our own kids, we were proud to be a part of the Meadowbrook family that night as well. And proud of the work and commitment from our music teacher who makes it a priority to teach the kids not only about music, but also how to use it to touch people's hearts.
During the show, Mara sat with us and was extremely well behaved considering the time of the evening and how quickly she had to shovel her supper into her little face before leaving for the show. She loved watching Josh and Lauren up there, and mentioned a few times that she can't wait to be up there with them. I told her not to be in such a big hurry to get too big too fast. To which she quickly replied, "Well I AM basically 5." Little does she know how I am savoring every bit of her still being 4 for as long as I can. Five seems so big. And 4 seems not quite so much.
Here are a few pictures of our crew doing their thing. I was so thankful for my super zooming lens on the camera for this particular show. We had good seats, but even with being there an hour before the show, it was a mad dash to get in for a decent seat. I was talking to another Mom in the line before the doors opened about our shared anxiety over the securing of seats for performances there. I'm not alone, but it seems ridiculous to have to be at the school more than an hour ahead of a show to get a seat where you can see your children well. I guess it is a blessing that so many people care about our kids enough to come out to all of their special programs. But it stresses a stressed Mama out. Thanks to the zoom lens, though, we were able to get some decent photos to remember this night.
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