Grumble, Grumble, Grumble!

Grumble, Grumble, Grumble
Here I am not even two weeks out from the most wonderful time, when my kids and grandkids came home from all over the country just to help us celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.  Yet, I found myself mechanically putting ornaments on my fifth tree and complaining!  I complained that it wasn't like when the kids were all little and we would make an evening of it.  Larry would make a a pot of fudge, not the modern kind, but the recipe that used to be on the back of the Hershey cocoa can.  We would play Christmas carols and a few times I even taught the kids how to string popcorn and cranberries for the garland.  They would put their ornaments and green and red garland that they made from construction paper on the tree and we would celebrate each homemade treasure.  It didn't matter where they landed, if they were perfectly placed or color coordinated.  After it was finished we turned off the lights to admire our work and there were times we even went outside to see how it looked as the multicolored lights shined brightly out of the frontroom picture window.  The fresh smell of the tree made the whole room inviting.  Hmmmm!  That was a pleasant trip down memory lane but then there was my murmuring!  My complaining!  My grumbling!  Tears of loss of a time gone by.  The lights still sparkled but not in this girls soul!  This mood pretty much continued all day as it matched the gloomy November day we were having.

This morning I got into my study of the Psalms and figured that I could find something that would cheer me up.  Oh, how You, oh Lord must tire of our constant whys and whines!  Sure enough in Psalm 10:14 I found it!  But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand.  There!  That's me afflicted!  Really, Jeanie!  You just testified to anyone who listened that You have been with us all fifty years of our marriage and now you complain because things aren't like they used to be when you were young.
Then my bible directed me to another scripture that hit too close to home.  I turned quickly to Philippians 2:14-16 that says "Do EVERYTHING without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault...  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.

Hallelujah, Lord!  You, again, had me pegged and brought councel to my heart!  I have nothing to complain, murmur or argue about, you have given me everything I need.  Then the Lord led me to turn on our 12ft tree and as the lights flashed on I saw the blessing the Lord wanted me to see.  It was ornaments placed willie nillie, ribbon slung across the bottom of the tree with no apparent purpose and a few broken ornaments that we used anyway!  It was the handywork of a new generation of tree decorators!  It was the beauty that my grandkids created while they were here.  Each little hand had placed shiny bits of love all over our Christmas tree.  Oh how generous you are to us, God, even when we grumble!  I love you, Lord!  Thank you, Jenna, Evie, Kellan and Harper Jean!