For a little while today I had my own personal superhero. (I can actually feel you getting jealous and all I can say is, “na-na na-na boo boo.“) Picture this: a 3′ tall superhero dressed in a padded Spiderman suit (surprisingly accessorized with a bright, red Superman cape). My 3 year-old nephew Benjamin played the role well, appearing from the corner of the room whenever a cry for help was sounded. He went immediately to the imaginary ‘bad guys’ and pushed them away. With each rescue, I heard, “And don’t come back bad guys!” After taking care of the situation, he strutted to the corner with his muscles bulging and waited patiently for the next cry of distress.
I’m so thankful we have a real-life superhero that is always standing ready to step in and help. There are too many challenges in this life, too many things that come against us, and too many problems to tackle on our own. Even if His hands were tied behind His back, God could still handle anything and everything we face. Are you in the middle of a difficulty? Give it to God. “This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord…” (2 Kings 3:18) He wants to take all those worries you are trying to carry alone. “Cast all your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22) It’s a good idea to start each day thanking God for His goodness. Following that, we should ask Him to watch over us, and to give us strength and wisdom to face each moment. Here’s our choice: go through the day fighting battles on our own, or go through the day with the only superhero who ever really existed. I know the choice I’m going to make, do you?
There’s always a little uncertainty about winter weather in Ohio. One forecast calls for tons of snow; another predicts we will have little snow but frigid temperatures. Quite frankly, I just want to know if I should be preparing my ‘snow-shoveling muscles.’ (I’m not even sure if I have any. I wonder if I can buy them on Amazon?) A few years back I remember opening my garage door and having the snow reach my shoulders, which completely ended the thought of going anywhere, and totally changed all plans for that day. Is it too much to ask what to expect? Is it too much to want to get ready for any contingency?
During this Christmas season, let’s take time to recognize and enjoy the perfect moments. Recently I watched my 3 year-old nephew Benjamin for a few hours. It didn’t matter to us what we chose to do, as long as we were doing it together. We made Play-Doh cookies, fought imaginary lions, and build a fort under the dining room table. Laying under the table reading the same book over and over was my personal favorite. There were blankets to cover the chairs, a ‘secret’ entrance, and pillows and blankets to make our space cozy. There wasn’t much room under that table, so we snuggled close as we read. What do you call that time together? A perfect moment.
Love is a tired word. Nowadays it’s used to describe a positive emotion towards anything. For example, “I love pizza,” or “I love these new shoes.” But the confusing thing is that people also say, “I love my little brother,” or “I love my Grandma.” So does that mean they feel the same way about pizza as they do their Grandma? (Just asking…) It makes me feel like we should rate love on a scale of 1-10. If we love popcorn at the movies, we’ll give it a 3; a great day spent with friends we’ll give a 7; and the love we have for our family-a solid 10. At least if we put the word ‘love’ on a scale of 1-10, it wouldn’t seem like we love our children as much as we love a good hamburger. (Just saying...)
When God sent His angel to tell the world where Jesus would be born, you’d think he would have gone to the Bethlehem mayor’s office. The news stations would have loved that scoop, or even the Bethlehem News Messenger would want a chance at the story. I wonder why He didn’t just post it on Facebook? There were so many ways God could have announced His Son’s birth, but He chose to share it with the lowly shepherds. Luke 2:8-12, “And in the same area there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 
I’m thankful for family. I’m thankful for the sense of belonging, for the closeness, and for the coming together in tough times. My family lost someone we love this week: a loving husband, a great father, and a fun filled grandpa. It’s not easy to say goodbye. It helps to remember the times we spent together and the many ways he made life enjoyable. My dad was always teasing us, playing little jokes, saying outrageous things to get a reaction. He had a great sense of humor and was able to laugh at almost anything. We loved him for that. Mere words could never capture the essence of my dad, but he was someone I admired, someone I loved, and is someone I will miss dearly. I’m thankful for the time we had together.
I’m thankful for weekends. I have a great job that I enjoy and get incredible satisfaction from doing, but there’s something to be said for a little ‘downtime’. The weekend may bring time with family, time with friends, or time with the washer and dryer. It could be filled with errands or filled with chores at home. But there’s a particular part of the weekend I always look forward to: the time of rest. Weekdays have meetings, deadlines, and demands, but the weekend-that’s the time to breathe. On the weekend I’m hooked up to a battery charger; the downtime gives me the energy to start another week. I’m grateful for time off and a little rest.
I am fortunate to drive a car that is very reliable, 99% of the time. One Saturday it didn’t start when I was headed to a toddler’s birthday party. That’s bad timing! I called a towing company and they arrived three hours later. They determined it was just a dead battery, so they jumped it and off they went. I left immediately for a late arrival to the party but had to stop for gas and the battery instantly died there. Can you guess what happened the next place I went? (If you guessed dead battery, you get the prize today. It’s found in the next paragraph so keep reading). The car was eventually taken into the shop where it received a whole new battery. Not having a faithful car, (for even just a day), led to one disappointment after another.
My mom likes to put challenging 1,000 piece puzzles together. She had one with old-fashioned tea cups where almost every single cup had gold rims and small blue and pink flowers. Another one was a solid picture of sprinkled and frosted doughnuts which, quite honestly, just made me hungry. Her most recent puzzle is a football stadium packed with fans (Are you kidding me?). When she dumps a box out I can’t help but think it will never come together, because it’s just a jumbled mess that doesn’t look like anything promising. And yet every time, little by little, a picture begins to form. It doesn’t happen overnight and mom has to keep working at it, but each time the final picture is simply quite amazing.
Everyone should have an inner circle of friends. We need people we can be real with: straight up honesty-hold nothing back-no judgment-and total freedom. It’s the trust, support, and love that make these friends so valuable. With life’s schedules it’s challenging to find the time, but the effort spent with a good friend is always worth it. I visited one such friend last night and all we did was sit around a campfire sharing life, giving support, and laughing with abandon. There’s something special about not having to dress up and ‘put on airs,’ to be able to wear those worn jeans and that comfortable t-shirt, and to have no expectations but a simple visit. That kind of friend is valuable.