Last night I attend the Escambia County Board of Commissioners’ meeting. I was excited. One item on their agenda meant a lot to John and to me. And so, I went to the meeting room; I signed up as a speaker in support of the agenda item; and, I got settled in and waited.

The first couple of agenda items took a long time. It didn’t surprise me.   I had been in the same room at a previous meeting of the County Commissioners. That meeting took more than 6 hours. And, when they got to the agenda item that interested me, there was a great deal of discussion. Last night, I was ready and prepared to sit and to wait a long time for their discussion of the item that concerned us so very much.

But, after about 20 minutes of proceedings, the process changed. It was as if everyone in the room but me had been informed that a new dance had started. All at once, 9 and 12 items at a time were being brought up and adopted. And suddenly our item was approved with several others in less than 20 seconds. It was done. I wasn’t asked to speak on the item because they did not need (or desire) my input. The important action that we wanted so much had been approved.

The meeting ended and I found myself still sitting on that padded pew like bench. I wanted to high-five someone, but everyone was leaving. I gathered my things, noted that the entire meeting had taken less than 50 minutes, and went out into the steamy, Pensacola evening. As I called John to share the good news, I felt a little cheated.

Well, let’s talk about something else.

Did you ever read the story about the couple getting engaged? The man put the engagement ring into the crystal goblet, expecting his sweetheart to notice the shiny diamond at the bottom of the cup, only to be stunned when she drank down the entire contents of the glass – ring included. I have no doubt that the girl was embarrassed as they walked into the ER to talk about retrieval “options.” But, the guy had to be shocked too. His big, romantic plan had been ruined in a single gulp.

You may have a similar story.

– The carefully selected Christmas gift that was put to the side as soon as they opened it. It was over so fast that you weren’t even sure that they knew what it was.

– The Thanksgiving dinner that looked like it should be featured in “Southern Living” and was eaten during the commercials of “the” football game.

– The lights for the house that, at the store, were promised to dance across the roofline and now only blinked at you from the garage side.

Well, let’s agree to laugh those off this year. Let’s enjoy the journey and not put so much effort into the glitter and smoked turkey. Let’s not try so hard to buy the perfect gift or sing the perfect solo or put the bike together on Christmas Eve. Let’s decide that it really is all about that warm hug, her kind smile, his happy giggle, and that silent night so very, very long ago.

Rest easy, My Friend, “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:24)

Love, Jill (just one of God’s kids)