New Blog Post: From Grinch to Santa in 4 hours, all it takes is a little light in your life!
So today at 4:00 I was the Grinch.
Seriously. Sometimes during this time of the year I get frustrated. I get frustrated with obligatory visits, the pressure to buy gifts, the disruption to life's normal rhythm and to be quite honest I'm not sure what any of this stuff at Christmas has to do with Christ. Don't you? Then I start thinking about it and I get mad, really mad. Your probably thinking, "Brad that never happens to me", well God bless you...you are freed from having to endure this post. But for the rest of you, hang on it gets better.
My mom wanted me and the kids to roll down to Belmont to visit with our cousins Betsy and Lisa. Betsy lives in my Uncle Bill's old house on the same farm where my Granddaddy grew up and became the man we all knew and loved. I love going there. It conjures up so many sweet memories for me about being helped along in life by a great man.
But today, I didn't want to go. It was just one of those days. I did want to honor my mother. I did want to see my cousins. But as my son says, "I'll do it, but why do I have to like it!"
Well today I didn't like it. I was the Grinch. We packed in Tori's car, headed out through Hickory. That is a longer route but the traffic through the Charlotte area is horrible. The Hickory route took forever. The more we rode the madder I got. It was raining too and I was getting seasonal effective disorder in a big way.
Tammy was doing her best to cheer me up...but failing miserably...not her fault...for what is a faithful wife to do with a Grinchy old husband?
I think I became a complete atheist again for a few minutes!
Well the GPS took us to Mcadenville NC. Mcadenville is known around here as Christmas Town and the whole place is like one great big Christmas tree. The city decorates public buildings with incredible flair and the citizens are just as flamboyant. People from miles around drive there to gander at the lights. And they are spectacular. BUT, people from miles around come to cruise at 5 MPH to GANDER! Hundreds of cars inching through a small Carolina town.
And we were stuck, late, in the rain and Tammy and the kids had the Grinch with them in a slow moving car, oh and did I mention we were late and I was Grinchy?
But something about those lights, something about the people hollering out of their cars "Merry Christmas!"
Something about us as a family together, not talking over skype thousands of miles from one another...there was something about all that that "de-grinch-ified" me.
The lights were amazing. One house, pictured here... featured in bright lights a blatant emphasis on CHRIST in their greeting to passers by. We stopped the car and I just looked at it....and took a picture.
I realized then that if Santa's sleigh ran on Christmas Spirit, then I had officially grounded the old guy. The lights shone through the darkness. I was reminded and stunned again by God's love and the beauty of the moment. The wonder of Emmanuel, God coming to be with us, one of us...to save His people.
More De-Grinch-ification!
We were late, but Betsy and Lisa didn't care. We told stories about our family. We laughed alot too. There was joy and fellowship. Grinch was fading!
On the way back to top it all off, because God really really is good, we met this guy in Chik-Fil-A! And who doesn't love Chik-Fil-A?
He gave me his card that read simply.... "SANTA".
He told me I was on his list and he said, "I love you man!"
So long Grinch.....Merry CHRISTmas everybody!
More to follow.....
Seriously. Sometimes during this time of the year I get frustrated. I get frustrated with obligatory visits, the pressure to buy gifts, the disruption to life's normal rhythm and to be quite honest I'm not sure what any of this stuff at Christmas has to do with Christ. Don't you? Then I start thinking about it and I get mad, really mad. Your probably thinking, "Brad that never happens to me", well God bless you...you are freed from having to endure this post. But for the rest of you, hang on it gets better.
My mom wanted me and the kids to roll down to Belmont to visit with our cousins Betsy and Lisa. Betsy lives in my Uncle Bill's old house on the same farm where my Granddaddy grew up and became the man we all knew and loved. I love going there. It conjures up so many sweet memories for me about being helped along in life by a great man.
But today, I didn't want to go. It was just one of those days. I did want to honor my mother. I did want to see my cousins. But as my son says, "I'll do it, but why do I have to like it!"
Well today I didn't like it. I was the Grinch. We packed in Tori's car, headed out through Hickory. That is a longer route but the traffic through the Charlotte area is horrible. The Hickory route took forever. The more we rode the madder I got. It was raining too and I was getting seasonal effective disorder in a big way.
Tammy was doing her best to cheer me up...but failing miserably...not her fault...for what is a faithful wife to do with a Grinchy old husband?
I think I became a complete atheist again for a few minutes!
Well the GPS took us to Mcadenville NC. Mcadenville is known around here as Christmas Town and the whole place is like one great big Christmas tree. The city decorates public buildings with incredible flair and the citizens are just as flamboyant. People from miles around drive there to gander at the lights. And they are spectacular. BUT, people from miles around come to cruise at 5 MPH to GANDER! Hundreds of cars inching through a small Carolina town.
And we were stuck, late, in the rain and Tammy and the kids had the Grinch with them in a slow moving car, oh and did I mention we were late and I was Grinchy?
But something about those lights, something about the people hollering out of their cars "Merry Christmas!"
Something about us as a family together, not talking over skype thousands of miles from one another...there was something about all that that "de-grinch-ified" me.
I realized then that if Santa's sleigh ran on Christmas Spirit, then I had officially grounded the old guy. The lights shone through the darkness. I was reminded and stunned again by God's love and the beauty of the moment. The wonder of Emmanuel, God coming to be with us, one of us...to save His people.
More De-Grinch-ification!
We were late, but Betsy and Lisa didn't care. We told stories about our family. We laughed alot too. There was joy and fellowship. Grinch was fading!
On the way back to top it all off, because God really really is good, we met this guy in Chik-Fil-A! And who doesn't love Chik-Fil-A?
He gave me his card that read simply.... "SANTA".
He told me I was on his list and he said, "I love you man!"
So long Grinch.....Merry CHRISTmas everybody!
More to follow.....
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