Self-improvement

Fill Your Hope Chest

Jeanna G2 Comments

Mom loved to redecorate, and rehab and rearrange the furniture, but her hope chest was one of the few pieces of furniture that was a fixture. It held our baby books, handmade family quilts and afghans, and her good silver. It wasn’t until I read a novel that described a woman’s hope chest that I actually put a meaning to the name. I just thought of it as a pretty storage trunk, but hope chests were essentially the beginning of a collection of things a woman would want to have once she became a wife, like a gown, dishes, table and bed linens, or family heirlooms. Women were manifesting their futures with a tangible vision board. If I build it, he will come. 

As for myself, my hope chest wouldn’t be filled with plates and silverware. It would have my passport and a carry-on,  packed and ready to go anywhere, at any time of year. There’d also be some of my daughter’s onsies that I saved, in hopes of seeing them on my granddaughter one day.

Hope and wait, hope and wait. 

The season of advent shares this theme, as Christians wait for the hope-filled arrival of Jesus. Many also hope for the arrival of Santa and whatever he’s got in his bag. Some of us are hoping and waiting for a fresh start in the new year. We hope and wait for a proposal, a job offer, an invitation, or an approval. We hope and wait for a letter or a phone call, or for someone to come back home. Some of us hope things stay the same, and some hope for change.

What I hope is that you hope for something; that you are filling your hope chest with beautiful designs for the future, and that peace, love, and joy surround you while you wait. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Jeanna G4 Comments

I used to love Highlights magazines for the different front and back covers. I would study the picture of what was right on the front in order to identify what was wrong on the back. I think this practice trained us for adulthood. We grow up with a picture in our minds of what we want our surroundings to look like, but sometimes what’s on the back cover is our reality. We need to, at times, take a step back and take in the whole picture in order to identify what’s out of place, what doesn’t fit, and what we need to fix.

Your Carol

Jeanna G5 Comments

My daughter and I just finished watching Mickey’s Christmas Carol, and I couldn’t help but think of my blog’s theme. I spend a lot of time thinking about my past, and my conscience often joins me on those trips, but it might be cool if it were in the form of Jiminy Cricket one time. The giant ghost of Christmas present would be fun, too, but I’ll pass on the scary guy of the future.

Actually, I wonder where Jiminy would take me. What scene would play out that would explain why I am where and who I am today? And what is it about who I am today that will determine where I meet the ghost of a time yet to come.

Looking back, Scrooge plead, “Please Spirit! I can no longer bear these memories.” To which the ghost of Christmas past responded, “Remember Scrooge, you fashioned these memories yourself.” I have to give Scrooge credit for being honest with himself by remembering the mistakes he made. In the morning he was surprised that the spirits had given him another chance, but he knew just what he’d do with it.

In this time of reflection and resolutions, what will you remember about your past and how it relates to who you are today? If the spirits take you on a ride this Christmas Eve, will they give you another chance tomorrow? What will you do with it?