Our Helper

I have to say that taking down Christmas decorations this year went smoother than ever.  Perhaps it was because most of it got magically done while I was taking a long afternoon nap : ).  Maybe it really was because this year Grant was a huge helper.  Whatever it might’ve been, we finished the task in a few hours as supposed to a couple of days.  We took down, wrapped and boxed every ornament and every figurine.  We filled up many containers and carried them (well, Dan and Grant did : ) to the outside storage where they’ll live for the next 11 months.  We vacuumed the carpet (well, Dan did : ) and moved the furniture back to its place (well, almost all of it).  It’s all done now, and the only remaining “Christmas” is the lovely poinsettia on our kitchen table and the myriad of toys still scattered on the floor.

Now, we sit and try to come up with ways to return to some sense of normalcy as we see the Christmas season come to a close.  The boys are really NOT looking forward to going back to school tomorrow and I am really not looking forward to the trip I have to take to Panama later this week.  I am struggling to get back to my routine and I still haven’t found time to start exercising again.  In other words, the Post-Christmas Blues is all set to begin.

This year, however, I am experiencing a glimmer of hope that hasn’t been there before during these traditionally tough, after-Christmas days.  I think it all began with the realization that Grant is becoming a huge helper around the house.  He is even taking up laundry duties!  And Dan can rely on his help, even if often reluctantly, every time he asks Grant to lend him a hand.   Seeing my son becoming a “big boy” on whom I can count on to do what is necessary sparks hope in my soul and reminds me of the blessing of having a helper around.

Thinking about that reminds me of another “Helper” I have.  Today, as I pray for the Lord to lavishly surround me and my loved ones with His presence, I feel inspired and ready to take on the challenges that He might have reserved for me in 2012 because I know I will not face them alone.  I will have Him with me in the form of the Holy Spirit, my Divine Helper.   He has given me an increased awareness of the fulfilled promise of Emmanuel, God with Us as I accept and understand in my heart that the greatest blessing is the Holy Spirit living inside every believer. 

When Jesus was trying to explain to His disciples that He’ll be leaving soon, He comforted them by announcing the fact that once He’d be gone from the material world, He’d send the “Helper,” “The Comforter,” “The Holy Spirit,” to reside permanently in their hearts so the promise of Emmanuel, God with Us, would continue to be true. 

It is thanks to the presence of the Holy Spirit in us that we can confidently maneuver through the jammed and complex ways of the world without getting lost.  As well as we remain tuned-into His guidance, we will know that we are stepping on solid ground, not on sinking sand.  Jesus Himself reassured us of the navigating value of the Holy Spirit when He told His disciples that, “…the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”  (John 14:26 NIV) 

Therefore, His Word would become alive as we read it once we allow the Holy Spirit to be our teacher and guide.  And He is indeed teaching me personally to trust in Him as my counselor.  Before every decision I make, before every turn I take, before every trip I begin, I am learning to let myself be ushered by His loving hands to where He needs me to go. 

That’s why today, as I begin a new year, I am not as concerned, worried or afraid as I used to always be.  I know I not only have a maturing family who together forms a winning team, but that I also have a Helper who loves me and who leads me “beside quiet waters, restores my soul and guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”  A guide who holds my hand even as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and guards my heart so I would fear no evil, for He is with me always. (Psalm 23)

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  (Psalm 121: 1-2 NIV)