Merry Christmas Snuggles

Merry Christmas

Gifts in Swaddling

December 17, 2012

Dear Ones,

  My time back at the Big House for those few days was full but brought its own sweetness as I spent moments with those I have been missing.  It was a special gift of time that I had not anticipated when the calendar was marked back in September for the next few months.  As I started my journey home the snow began to fall in Luoyang- I think it was a special gift for me…I love the snow and the added gift was that it was pretty but did not delay the flights.  Gifts, we love to give them, we love to receive them, and we love to share them.  I am blessed with so many gifts and the older I grow the more I delight in the extra special moments that come with gifts.  You should have seen Becca and I on the floor of my room, a tiny Christmas tree sitting between us we giggled, laughed, sipped cocoa, and shared the opening of a Christmas box sent from far away filled with treats to make the days bright and the season just a little sweeter.  Then there is my favorite gift of any season but especially as Christmas draws closer- the gift of children.  Bundles unwrapped, swaddling pulled back, and precious babies found within.  Each time I pull back the layers wondering what I will find within the wraps, curious at the gift God will choose to give me this time, with this bundle through this tiny life.  How will this gift change my life?  Was this what Mary felt as she swaddled that tiny babe, wrapping Him so snuggly warm and placing Him ever so gently in the manger?  Each time she unwrapped Him and peeked inside did she feel like she was once again opening The Gift of Christmas- a baby sent with all the love of His Father in Heaven to change the world.  I pray that the thought of swaddling clothes and gifts under the starry skies causes the light of His Grace to shine bright in your heart this Christmas.

With Love,

Mariah

A Very Happy Place

The little things…

Stepping off the airplane in Hong Kong at 7:00am (the plane left Bangalore at 3:00am)

with the sound of “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” playing throughout the terminal and seeing the signs for Christmas in a cup- Toffee Nut Latte to be exact, and a Very Happy Place!

Mehndi- Leaving a "Beautiful" Stain

Mehndi, it is a deep stain, a work of love that shows in the intricate details scrolling along the inside of arms and across palms.  A stain, vibrant in design and pattern replicating the rich fabric of a country, a stain that reminds me of a journey, of scars, of healing, of grace, of beauty, of tears- A gift, a gift that would remind me that though some stains left along the journey are ugly stains there can also be stains that remind me of the beauty…and so I was given a gift as sweet Jennifer scrolled art work down my arms and then hugged me goodbye with tears.  I was left with a Mehndi stain on my life, my heart is blessed beyond measure.

Thankful for you...

December 3, 2012

Dear Ones,

You cannot imagine what a blessing to my heart all of your notes of encouragement have been.  A treasure of people, and prayers lifted up for me, a great cloud of witnesses.  I am sorry that I have not been able to individually respond to each of those notes, internet connections and time being what it is but I want you to know that they have been read and reread as I wait to finish my time here in India.  In just a few short hours I will be flying back to China.  I have spent the past several days collecting documents, making various necessary arrangements, and prayerfully the last of the documents will be finished tomorrow allowing me to return on Wednesday to Beijing.  The gift of this time, this opportunity to share with you a piece of life’s journey that I have the privilege of walking with so many of the children that God gives me to care for has not been the easy course in God’s classroom of life, in fact there are moments when I feel that I am failing miserably.  And then I am comforted by the reminder,

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.”

II Corinthians 4:7-10

  I simply want to say thank you for as your prayers were lifted up from the far reaches of the earth God was working to care for and comfort me right here.  He sent people around me to help with arrangements, hug me, cry with me, and make sure that I was cared for.  I have been covered with an outpouring of love that beyond a shadow of a doubt was a result of your prayers. 

Grace Beyond Measure- Yes, Amazing Grace,

Mariah