Embracing the Smell.

We got rain. We’ve all been praying for rain and after the drought last year we were so grateful to get it! My kids played in our “swamp” until 10pm and had the best time.

That was last Wednesday.

Saturday Jonathan and the kids found and cut a GORGEOUS tree. It’s so beautiful- 17 1/2 feet! We cut it down to 13-14′, it barely fits, and its my favorite tree ever.

We put the lights on and decorated it Saturday night and by then I was starting to notice a smell. My sister was in town and said she could smell it too. I felt under Ben and Ty’s bunk bed in the living room (I’ll explain whey they have beds in the living room another time :)) and the carpet was SOAKED. Turns out the huge rainfall had caused water to build up outside the house where it soaked through the stucco. All along the wall the carpet was wet. Sigh. Visions of sitting cozily around the Christmas tree singing Christmas Carols out of the family Christmas carol book slowly started evaporating. Ok well, we have never done that before and I haven’t made family Christmas Carol books, but I am sure THIS was the year I would have done it if I wasn’t pulling up carpet and digging trenches outside my house. 😉

Tuesday night- the carpet and pad were still pulled up, still soggy and still stinky (!!!!) All the furniture was shoved around our tree and I was seriously struggling to not let it get the best of me. I see plenty of blogs where people have everything done right and not just right, but fabulous- am I the anti blogger? Always blogging about problems? Sigh. Our house was smelling SO bad. Parfum de Mildew. I had a little meltdown to myself (why did this have to happen right NOW?!) and then to Jonathan (who was at work) about it. I think he said “can we talk about it later” about 10 times as I ranted. I’m not proud.

I don’t even cook bacon inside because the smell lingers but maybe I should start now, it would smell better than this damp wet smell. (Hey is this making all my friends want to visit?) This is the look we are going with for now.

But today- Wednesday, preparing for the big storm this weekend I was listening to a Christmas song about Baby Jesus being born and a thought hit me- I bet the stable where He was born smelled like wet hay too. And then starting to see myself in a not so great light I thought about our friend who recently lost his job just as his wife was starting chemo treatments for her cancer and he saw the BLESSINGS in his situation. His faith in his Heavenly Father was such an example in a much more real trial than my silly one.

Yesterday as I was trying to not just (dramatically) give up on the Christmas season. I was listening to a chapter from Jesus The Christ and was reminded of the time Jesus and his disciples were out on the Sea of Galilee in a vessel. Jesus was resting and sleeping through the storm that came up. When his disciples woke Him up in a panic, crying “Lord, save us!” Calmly He replied, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” He “rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Turning to the disciples, He asked in tones of gentle yet unmistakable reproof: “Where is your faith?” and “How is it that ye have no faith?”

Why do I let life’s circumstances get me down?? I feel like “Peace, be still” and “Where is your faith?” were just what I needed to hear. With those reminders I’m feeling like its going to be ok… and the view is still good from here!

Christmas isn’t about the house being perfect. We will take care of the carpet somehow, my family is here together and happy so today I am embracing the smell/situation- when its bothering me I will try to picture my Savoir entering the world in humble circumstances and try to do more to make this a Christ centered Christmas.

XOXO