Broken Christmas

This is one of the short stories I've written for my creative writing class this semester. I hope you enjoy it, and I should be posting more stuff soon. 

The sparkling glass ball twinkled in her trembling hand as she situated the ornament on one of the pine’s branches. With a soft sigh, she slowly turned and selected another delicate globe from the velvet-lined box on the hearth next to the flickering and crackling fireplace.  Its brilliant golden glow cast her boney hand in an even paler complexion. She rubbed her wrinkled fingertip against the cool glass of the ball and sighed. He’d given her this one for their thirty-fifth Christmas together, they’d had real tree then. The room had been filled with the sharp scent of pine. She longed for those days again. The days before this fake tree. Before this broken year. She hung the crimson-hued thirty-fifth ornament and stared at it, fighting the lump in her throat. 

Frank Sinatra’s rich voice serenaded her with a holiday song on her ancient record player, almost succeeding in drowning out the sounds of the others in the house. She’d told them to leave her while she placed her treasures on the tree and relived the memories. There were sixty-four fragile bulbs to grace her evergreen. One for each of their years together.

Pausing in her meticulous placement of the precious orbs, she strokes his picture on the mantel. “Merry Christmas, Dave,” she murmured, fighting the throbbing ache in her chest. They’d always adorned the tree together, reliving the highs and lows of each year. Alone now...she could only think of this year’s low.

“Mom.”

She turned to see her daughter had entered the room, holding a small present.

“I found this tucked in the closet. He left it for you.”

Her breath caught in her throat, and she unsteadily lowered herself onto the couch.

Sitting next to her mother, the younger woman placed the gift wrapped in red paper accented with golden trees in the elderly woman’s quivering hands.

Neither moved for awhile, just staring at the familiar-sized box.

Tears began to slip out of the corner of the grieving widow’s eyes. Her sixty-fifth ornament. 

Love of You

Junior high girls can be a pain. Now, I love each one of them, and I know some awesome ones. As I have two sisters who went through that stage pretty recently (and thus, all their friends at the same time), I do have a bit of knowledge on the subject. Each girl is great, but when you have a bunch of junior high girls together...things can get ugly. Often they take every overlook, slight, or even friendly comment to heart as a personal insult. Girls of this age are usually insecure about who they are and are completely hung up on their perceived flaws. So every comment, look and action is taken to be someone purposely rubbing salt in their wounds. It breaks my heart what some of these girls put themselves through. They buy into lies about what they should look like, act like and be. They're battered by the world and often don't let anyone in. They hurt, and are convinced that they are alone and let their wounds fester. It seems that nothing you say to them can assure them that they are beautiful the way they are and that you, and God, truly care.

That is just an example of something I've seen a lot. Each one of us buys into some of Satan's lies. Whether it's you're not good enough, you can't do it, or you've messed up too much; he manipulates your fears and faults to paralyze you. It breaks my heart when people I care about go through tough times... But the worst to me is when they don't see the beauty God's created them with. Each and every one of you is an amazing person worth more than life to our great Jesus. Yes, we each have flaws. There are parts of me I hate, but I also know that God considers me precious and valuable. Everyone in this world is someone special whom God loves, and each one can become more beautiful as they grow in Christ. You have potential, to be perfect and do something amazing. This song describes in better words than I can what God can do with every aspect of you.

God can take your deepest fear and biggest flaw and turn them into something beautiful. God is in the business of changes lives by changing you. His love is unconditional. Think about it, there is nothing about you that God doesn't know about. He still loves you, he always will. Please, dwell on that and let it sink in.

"What then shall we say to these things?" If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:31-39

Have you ever thought about how God loves you? Take every love song you've ever heard, and multiply it by ten. You're not there yet. And God's love is perfect. He'll never let you down. He'll never let you go. He's not hiding any part of himself. He's not going to change. If you let yourself really muse about this...well, it's amazingly comforting and uplifting. You are so important to God! You don't have to do anything to earn his love, you had it even before you were born! Listen to this song and imagine it's God singing to you.

Isn't that amazing? The tip of the iceberg is breathtaking. And there is so much more for us to discover. Please, take some time today to remember God's love for you and let it change your life.

By God's grace,
Ericka

Not Alone

"Resist [the devil], standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." -1 Peter 5:9

We all struggle. We all fail. We all suffer. One of the many lies that I've seen, and experienced, is that when you're deeply struggling with something, that you are alone in it. I tend to think that I'm the only one with my particular problem so I dig in and try to fight it out alone. But, I've discovered that there are often people around me who have been through the same thing, or are even going through the same thing. What a relief. Let that comfort you. You're not the only one; I'm not the only one. God can work through the people around me to encourage and strengthen me. I've been built up and helped along by dear friends who understand what I'm going through. Don't listen to the Devil's lie that you're alone. Turn to God, and then his people, for strength, love and grace.

Loving the Family

I am going to be posting my thoughts on a verse or passage either ever day, or every other day, for awhile. Maybe most of the summer. A friend of mine gave me the idea, and I think it's a great way to really meditate on scripture. So, it's mostly for me, but by posting my thoughts on a verse I'm reading, I'm setting up an accountability factor that I need. Here's the first one: 

"Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing." -1 Peter 3:8-9

I haven't been home from college very long, one week today, but I already find myself falling back into my bad habits of treating my siblings in a way that isn't God-honoring. Most the time it is small things, little snarky comments, or snapping back when someone snaps at me. My patience and tolerance is pretty long with most people, but for some reason very short with my family. This verse speaks to me about my actions with my siblings. I find myself forgetting to look at them through God's love and instead expecting them to live up to what I know they're capable of, and know they should do, and that tends to irritate me. But instead, I should love them. I need to humble myself, set a good example (being the eldest, this is my lot in life), and encourage them to do better. It won't be easy, to break old habits, but with Yahweh's strength and the Holy Spirit's guidance, I can create new and more godly ones. I was called to love and bless everyone, especially my family, it's an important aspect of my life that I'm trying to get right with God.