Friday, December 25, 2009

He who is mighty...

"And Mary said,
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever."
-Luke 1:46-55

Well... today I spent my very first Christmas away from my family.
I woke up around 10:30am, trying to convince myself that it was just like any other normal day and that I just have to make it through and I will get to fly home tomorrow. There were a couple big sisters and 3 girls here also that I got to spend it with. We opened presents and hesitantly watched the blizzard begin outside, and prayed that we would be able to make it out of the house to go spend Christmas with my mentor's family. On the way out the door I received a call from the airline notifying me that my flight home for tomorrow had been cancelled. It was all that I could do to keep from crying, but I called and thankfully... got it rescheduled for Sunday and even got my return flight pushed back a day later to make up for it. So it worked out alright, I just have to pray that the weather isn't still too bad Sunday morning for me to fly out.
But, we did make it to my mentor's house to celebrate Christmas and it was wonderful. We ate lots of good food and played game together and watched a movie. I felt so blessed to be a part of their celebration.

This evening as I reflect on the day, I'm realizing that I spent most of it either anxious or angry toward God instead of celebrating Him. I definitely allowed the inconveniences of my circumstances to distract me from the many blessings he has bestowed upon me. I begin to remember that there are people throughout the world who don't even have a warm place to lay their head as this blizzard takes over the midwest; that there are people who won't receive one gift; and that there are people who have no friends or family to surround themselves with. And I become ashamed of how ungrateful I have been today. Not only do I have a wonderful family in North Carolina that are missing me and wishing I was there with them, but I also have a family here who I am so blessed to have been able to spend this day with.

Let us rejoice as we remember the countless blessings that we have overlooked this year. Most of all, let us rejoice in the love of a Savior who gave up glory to redeem those who forget him.

In Him,
Shannon

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Mobile blogging now... Maybe you guys will get a few more updates now :)