The Little Light Shinning Bright

Well, it's that time of year where you drive through neighborhoods full of houses with Christmas lights, you see shoppers rushing through the stores to buy gifts, the mailman's arms are full of packages and Christmas cards, and every ornament on the Christmas tree is polished and shinning bright with the twinkling lights reflecting off of them. Your tree might be freshly cut, trimmed, watered, and smelling of pine... or your tree might be unpacked, fluffed, untwisted, and been spritzed with the cool new pine smelling spray (LOL) But no matter what kind of tree you have...I bet if you are like me, you love to turn the lights off and watch the tree glow bright in the dark. 
The holidays can sometimes be a hard time for some people. It reminds us of those that have passed on, hearts that we have broken or may have broken ours, or it can even be a time to reflect on a time that we have failed or fallen short. But, let us remind ourselves that a light shinning bright in the dark is a very powerful thing... even in the very darkest of places.
Past holidays I have sat and stared at my tree and was grateful God gave me Michael, cried for my loved ones that have passed on, praised God for my family and friends, was humbled by memories of my charitable works throughout the year... but most of all I was filled with love of the promise from God that he is always with me. As I stare at my twinkling star at the top of my tree I was always painfully aware that my heart was conflicted with the fact that I had so many things to be thankful for, yet my heart always seemed to still ache. Although the Bible says that God will supply you with only what you need, and not what you want... I KNEW I wanted and NEEDED to be a Mommy.
Maddison has been the answer to so many prayers and the cure to so much heart ache. She has forever changed me in so many ways and for that I am thankful. One day when she reads these posts, I want her to know that this Christmas is THE MOST MAGICAL and PERFECT Christmas.... just because of her!!!
I cannot even begin to put into words the emotional turmoil Mike and I have been through the past 5 years with infertility, but I CAN FOR SURE tell you how OVERCOME with GRATITUDE, JOY, LOVE, and just AWE of the AWESOME POWER God has shown me through Maddison. My heart is at PEACE with the past attempts that lead to  failure, because I now see clearly that this is EXACTLY what God wanted for Mike and Me.  We are now sooooo filled with LOVE it makes us both speechless. Today, my daughter turned to me at the most random times and melted my heart by saying "Mommy, I love you. I love you SO SO much." She makes me fall in love with her everyday... multiple times!
As I sit here blogging in my quite dark living room, staring at my Christmas tree all lit up... I can hear Mike reading Maddison her bed time story. He speaks softly... too soft to hear the actual words all the way from the living room... but I can tell by his tone the story is one Maddi will cherish as she closes her eyes and falls asleep in her nice warm [Tinkerbell] bed to the sound of her Daddy's voice. I love listening to Mike read her bed time stories and I think about all the tears I cried in the past because that is all I ever wanted... sticky fingers, toys in the couch, slobbery kisses, tight squeezed hugs, and the softest dreamy bedtime stories. So tonight, as I unplug my tree for the night... I will still take juuuuuust one more moment to thank God for all of my blessings... especially Maddison making Mike her Daddy and me her Mommy. And the little light shinning bright in our home this Christmas... is Maddison.

How our Christmas Tree became so BEAUTIFUL, and our lives so BLESSED:

Thank you God!!!