Holiday Madness

Most of my memories of the Christmas holidays since I entered adulthood are seasoned liberally with images of late nights, shopping cram sessions - trying to get it all in at once - and me...in up to my elbows in either craft projects, cooking projects, or both, all in an effort to make the Christmas season memorable for my family. The unfortunate consequence to this effort, is that except for enjoying the moments of pure glee on the faces of my children, I am just too tired to enjoy the holidays myself. If only I could go back to my childhood, when it was MY mom who was working herself to the bone to give us a holiday to remember.

Moving to South Africa brought about a HUGE change in the way we celebrate Christmas. No more chilly evenings, no more snow. No bundled up bodies. No frost bitten nose. No freshly cut Christmas trees or pine needles all the floor.

Now we have heat..and sleeveless tops as well (never mind that long gone are the days that these arms of mind deserved to see sunlight!) Outside barbeques replace the all day marathon turkey roast. Everyone here goes on holiday vacations to the beach or some resort somewhere - so much for the saying "there's no place like home for the holidays!".

At first, I was determined to do my best to recreate our American Christmas here in South Africa. What we ended up with was soggy, sea salt tainted gingerbread houses, Christmas chocolates all melted and a house full of hot sweaty family members opening up presents in a rush, only to be too overheated to pick up the mess afterward.

Now I'm wiser, and more experienced in the ways of the South African Christmas. A few things I refuse to give up: We still dutifully decorate our sad little fake Christmas tree with all the ornaments we have collected over the years. I still make an effort to cook (though I admit to a Christmas dinner at a restaurant one year). The kids (and David) still get to have the great debate with me as to whether we will open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day..(one day I will win!)and we still read the Christmas story and pretend it's cold outside - if only for a few minutes.

This year will be a different year even still. Already, I feel the madness of the rush creeping into my psyche. Never mind that I haven't even THOUGHT about what everyone is going to get for gifts..I'm still frantically trying to squeeze in time to paint the ornaments everyone is requesting. I also have planned to host a "Christmas biscuit and browse" open house on December 8th, to give the Craft Class a chance to market the items that are made up to that point. This spins me into a tizzy trying to "fill in" their items, as the amount of time they have had to make things is very limited.

Which reminds me to update you on our progress! We met on Wednesday morning and got "stuck" into making gift boxes to sell. I wish I could tell you how great it was to see them go from very hesitant and uncertain to much more confident in just 2 1/2 short hours! We will be meeting twice a week until Christmas, to build up stock, and hopefully give them some money for the holidays as well.

I do have a prayer request on their behalf, as well. For 10 days, I didn't see any of the ladies at their usual robots (traffic lights). Other than pray for them, there is little more that I can do. They don't have phones, and neither do they share their address with me. So I prayed...and hoped. On Wednesday, I got to the church on time, unloaded my things, then sat on the steps waiting. Doubt and concern for them crept all over me, trying to discourage me and get me to "what iffing" the future. About 10 minutes late, Ellen came with Blessing, and we got started. It was about an hour later, that Scholasti and Louisa came, feeling very worried that I would not forgive them. Louisa told me that they have had to stop coming to our town, due to pressure from the police "to move on", and from Child Services (Louisa told me that one social worker tried to physically take away a woman's baby. The woman hit the lady with her umbrella, then ran). I certainly understand the concern that the public has for the children, as it really isn't a safe environment for them to be in day after day...but then I think about what other options these women have. And unfortunately, there isn't a government or private effort that is reaching out to them, because they are not South African Citizens. I guess technically speaking they would be classified as refugees - but we don't even have a refugee camp for them.

Anyway, if you could just join me in praying for these ladies and their safety. Now they are traveling much further to try to find a place that will allow them to beg for their sustenance. And the fear of arrest and deportation weighs heavy on them. The pressure to try to give them an alternative means to live by sometimes tries to weigh on me. It's then I must remind myself that this is God's project, not mine, and that He will do as He wills with it - providing as He sees best.

And I must just trust and obey, as the old song goes.