Holiday Hustle and Bustle

Yesterday we took the kids out shopping and to enjoy the beautiful weather. We got up and decided to take a little trip out of town. It was 56 degrees outside so we were pretty excited to just throw on some sweaters and go. I intended to do some shopping but we spent awhile at the outdoor mall in the sunshine taking pictures and wasting time....so not much shopping got done. It was pretty much the perfect day. I do have two stories from the weekend that I wanted to share.......

• On our way out of town yesterday we went through the drive-thru at Starbucks. I got their Oatmeal with dried fruit which is delicious but that is a different story. We ordered our drinks/breakfast/snacks for the kids and drove up to the window. I was getting the money out when the Starbucks drive-thru lady says, "You order is paid for. The lady two cars in front of you paid for the three cars behind her, so it's taken care of". "What? That really just happened?", I thought. I have always heard of people doing things like that on tv or to other people, but never to us. The Starbucks people said she didn't give a name, she just said, "Happy Holidays". See, even in this crazed season where everyone seems to be on edge at times, there are still random acts of kindness. I have to say, I thought about that moment all day. Her act of graciousness reminded me that there is good all around us if you are willing to be open to it.
• At our church small group meeting tonight that we have weekly, we talked about family memories around the holidays. Our group leader related it to how God is a relational God. Anyway, everyone was sharing stories about what their family does every year for the holidays and what traditions they had growing up with and still have. I thought about my own family and our yearly Christmas. My family goes down to Missouri every year to my Grandma's house. It is always chaos and someone is always upset at someone else in the family, my Grandma complains about putting up a tree every year, my mom gets overwhelmed by the drama usually, and my dad constantly asks what board game we are going to play. It is what Mark and I call "wonderful chaos". Even though it is a crazy trip every year, Mark and I can't imagine not going. We plan weeks ahead of time what we'll pack and where we'll go and who we'll see. It reminds me that family is family. We're blessed to have a family that no matter what the drama, no matter who is arguing, no matter what is happening in people's lives....we get together....every year. Even if your family has drama, it is your family, and the holidays for us are a time to remember to celebrate with them.