Here are a few pictures from Christmas in Georgia. I can't even believe how much the girls have changed since my last posting (6 months ago...).
On Saturday we were at Chick-fil-A, and a nice man came along and gave the girls helium balloons. I appreciated the gesture, but deep down I was hoping we could get rid of them somehow. So, when we walked outside, I said, "Let's let the balloons go and send them to heaven!" Of course this met with whining and crying from Neely. So I said never mind.
Needless to say when we got home (after the balloons were floating around in the van for about an hour- nightmare). Sadie gladly let hers go into the clear blue sky. As we watched it climb higher, Neely started crying, and then wailing, and then screaming (keep in mind she was still holding onto her balloon). Here is the conversation:
Neely: I don't want Sadie's balloon to go all the way to heaven!!!
Me: (Thinking this could be a great teacheable moment) Neely, let me tell you what heaven is like so you won't be so sad that the balloon went to heaven. There is no crying in heaven... and no sadness, and no one is ever sick. And no one ever dies. And the best part is, you get to be with God and Jesus all the time. It is always happy in heaven.
Neely: (Through big crocodile tears in her eyes) Do you think when I get to heaven someday, I can get the balloon back?
Me: (Realizing with a smile that I am not so different from Neely) I think when you get to heaven someday, if you still want your balloon, you can have one.
Isn't that so like us? We were talking about in Sunday school this week how we are so like the Israelites-- being fed manna every day in the wilderness, knowing that God is our true Bread of Life, but grumbling about what He gives us or does NOT give us. In our hearts, do we really want Him more than anything else? If we did, we wouldn't be thinking about our old balloons as we journey through life. We would be setting our minds not on earthly things. And as we truly behold the majesty of Christ, we would long so deeply and so desperately for nothing but Him.
Happy New Year! Here's to seeing Christ as my All in All.
