When I was little our church had the most magnificent Christmas tree I’d ever seen. With the tallest of the men on 12 foot ladders I still don’t know how they reached the top. Decorating stretched into the evening as children eager with anticipation for the adults to finish stringing lights (so many lights…) waited for the real fun to begin.

Deck the halls was the premier event of the season. All the congregation it seemed, showed up to unwind while unboxing and unwrapping treasured ornaments made by members and children of the past.

But it was a mystery how the tree came to be in the sanctuary each year.

As it turned out, a few undercover angel members, who would scarce set foot in Sunday service – preferring instead the warmth of their garages and company of their radios- would venture into the woods, cut, haul out and place a magnificent smelling specimen just for us to adorn.

Though my little tree, years later doesn’t loom as large as those memories, I love it just the same.

This year I abandoned the hustle and bustle of the stores {for the most part} in favor of ancient traditions, an advent devotional and “It’s a Wonderful Life” on repeat.

I reveled in a pile of tiny bottle brush trees and dusted off beloved trinkets ready to tackle the task of recreating the cozy Christmas I held in my mind from childhood.

At night I drifted off counting my blessings and tiny plastic deer instead of sheep, plotting how big of a herd I would need to execute all the crafty Christmas ideas that populated my mind and Pinterest feed.

Christmas cannot be bought. Christmas cannot be created. Christmas cannot be made by hand, lit up, set out, dreamed up. Christmas can only be found. ~ Ann Voskamp, The Greatest Gift

As the grinch suggests, Christmas can only be found.

And more often than not, we find it in the truest sense when we pause and take time to connect the dots.

This season more than ever has me collecting Christmas truths and chaining them together, hope upon hope.

Like the strips of old violin music looping into garlands, the simple rhythms of rounding and gluing brought comfort and clarity to my soul.

It’s been interesting work curating not only the ideas, but the lessons of the past year.

Like all the bits and bobs, scraps and charms that I’ve saved and am just now using, no trial, triumph or test will be wasted either.

Since Thanksgiving I started numbering my blessings without starting over each day.

So far I’m up to 231… An ever evolving chain of events, verses and provisions that never cease to amaze me.

Little or large, they all connect me to the greatest unexpected gift of all time.

Looking comes first if you’re ever to find the life you want, if you are ever to “see you a king”. Always looking, always- first the eyes. Joy is a function of gratitude, and gratitude is a function of perspective. You only begin to change your life when you begin to change the way you see. ~ C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

Like startled shepherds in a field or weary wise men after a sovereign star, will we recognize and revel in the simple wonder of it all when we see it?

Without the long days of down time that sometimes surround my 9 to 5, this blog would not have been born and I wouldn’t have discovered such kindred spirits in you all.

Without the humble offerings of saints gone by I wouldn’t know how to appreciate the treasure of serving others in the present.

And as dark as it seems in these short winter days, it’s the perfect setting to see the rays of light ready to break through at any moment.

To feel the whisper of the Holy Spirit like the flutter of angel wings passing over our hearts.

We are created to create.

Summoned to seek- beauty and encouragement yes, but connection above all with our God and each other.

We are called to be tiny points of light piercing through a dull day extending small graces that give wings to our hearts and hope to our souls.

So thank you my friends near and far, young and old, past and present for shining bright.

Thank you for all the ways you lift each other {and me!} up.

I hope Christmas found you well.

Remember, no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings. Love, Clarence ~ It’s a Wonderful Life

♥

If you’d like more inspiration to wing it’s way to you in the new year, Click right here to find out more and to get your set of printable scripture cards! It’s my pleasure to create connection, community and sometimes cute stuff just for you and I can’t wait to see you soon in your inbox.

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