After 13 years of wedded bliss you would think that we would have figured it out- our Sunday morning routine. But without fail, 10 minutes before church begins, we are still at home rushing around trying to find shoes, brush teeth, slick that last little bit of hair down, etc. Someone is usually crying, someone else is grumbling about having to wear a collared shirt, and on a few occasions, Hank and I are not speaking to each other. :0) From what I hear, this is a fairly common phenomenon for most Sunday morning church-goers. This particular Sunday morning at the Thomas house was no exception. I tried to get up a little earlier than usual. It is the final Sunday of Advent and I wanted it to be peaceful. After all, our sweet Sam and Macy were about to sing in the children's choir and Hank was about to play the role of a life time. But, with 10 minutes until show time, Macy was waiting for me to find sew on a button, Sam was crying about his sweater, Josh was MIA, and Jack had just slipped his pink Iwakuni football sweatshirt over his head to wear into the house of the Lord! To make things even crazier, I was up to my eyeballs in making a Jesus costume for Hank. His beard needed to be adjusted this morning, so, in true Amy fashion, I waited until the very last minute. I found myself muttering some mild curse words under my breath as I am attaching the last little piece of elastic onto a Jesus beard made of felt and a ladies scarf. Talk about crazy! Oh, did I mention that it was potluck Sunday and that I forgot to turn the oven on when I put my casserole in?
Hank went ahead to church with the kids and I arrived shortly after the service began- just in time for the children's program. There is something so very beautiful about little voices singing Away in a Manger. (Unless you are the mom of the child who on stage making funny faces and covering his ears.) I was not that mom this year and it was glorious! Last year was my year. Right Sam? Hank made his brief appearance as Jesus and he looked just perfect- beard and all. The advent candles were lit. The pastor gave a very short and sweet message about peace at Christmas time and then we sang O Come All Ye Faithful together. For a brief second, I longed for home. But as I looked all around me, I realized that I was already there. My casserole cooked while we were at church and it turned out just right. We sat with a wonderful Japanese family during the potluck and talked about our many different Christmas traditions.
After church, we quickly straightened up the tornado-like mess that we had made this morning. The boys played with friends, Hank and Sam went to the gym, and Macy and I stayed home, watched Christmas movies, and painted our nails red and green. We were almost done with our nails when we noticed from the window that it was snowing! It was perfect! For a brief moment, everything was so peaceful. Today I am so very grateful for a Savior who is the Prince of Peace- even in the midst of crazy every Sunday morning at 1275D in Iwakuni, Japan.
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