Contentment

Content. In one word if I had to describe my life right now that would do it. Dreaming of the future and imagining what may come, but content looking at all that is right now. I don't know how it gets to be any better than this.

Christmas day Ruen (an 8 year old wonder who has lived here for a year and a half) and I - well first we read Charlie Brown's Christmas, cause it's one of his favorites and then we had a real talk about what this Christmas thing is all about. He gets it - it's the best birthday party ever and we're celebrating because Jesus came for all our troubles. And then we played.

After dinner we watched Elf cause that should be one of everyone's favorites and while his English is not quite good enough to quote the film he could easily give a play by play one what scenes are coming up and when to laugh.

When we got home far past bedtime he prayed with me for Jesus to forgive him and make his home in his heart - and for the Holy Spirit to please help him get it right.

And he went to sleep and I left his room knowing this had been the most excellent of Christmases and more than anything that could have happened that day this was good and precious and eternal.

As Charles Dickens wrote "and whenever the fire within me shall grow cold, to light my path upon this earth no more, i pray that it may be at such an hour as this, and when i love the world as well as i do now."*

I feel very far from wanting to leave this world because I am in love with what God lets me do each day and I want to see what happens as the years go by, but - the sentiment is the same nonetheless: contentedness.

*Charles Dickens in "Mr Humphrey's Clock"