“What do we do with all of these cards?” I wonder each year as I’m putting away our Christmas decorations.
Beautiful faces of those I love stare back at me; I can’t bear to see them in the trash.
Faces who have walked through life with me. Who have held my hand when I couldn’t stop the tears. Who have shared a glass of wine and gut-wrenching giggles with me when I needed it the most. Who accept me for who I am right at the moment – no more, no less.
I love them.
And what do we do for the people we love?
Yes. We pray for them.
This year, the cards are not going into the circular file. They are in a sweet little basket on our kitchen table. The one with the wax droplets, a stain of glitter glue, a deep scratch in the wood.
The one that is used abundantly; where our family gathers. Where we pray and break bread – together.
Each day, we draw a card out of the basket. We introduce the smiling faces to our children – friends from college who we adore but live far away and my children don’t have the privilege of really knowing. We look on our United States map to see where they now reside and reflect on how far they are from Indiana – where this conversation is taking place on a cold, January morning.
We look at the faces of the children and we talk about their ages. We love to compare how much older and younger everyone is from us. (Mommy and Daddy are exempt from this part…)
Their picture is placed on the cross in the center of the table and then.
We pray.
We pray for their health. Their peace. That the new year will be one of joy and that when and if the joy is lost, they will feel God’s hands holding them firmly in His palms. We pray that they will all grow deeper in their love for Him, that they will serve those around them, that their hearts will be ignited to change the world – one little piece at a time. *
Days later, they will weave into a conversation.
“Mama, isn’t Calfoonya where Etta used to live and now she lives is Azona?” asks Sawyer.
“AIR-I-ZONA, Sawyer” chides his older sister.
“Yeah, mama. Arizona,” he corrects.
Though we can’t see them every day or even within the year, our children learn more about their parents through meeting those they love and are loved by from a life that existed before they were even a twinkle.
Have you ever been in a group that consistently prayed together? If so, then you know what happens to that group – they become incredibly linked, bonded, united. They learn the inner-workings of the hearts that are sharing words with God.
The group that we pray with can be our own family and it’s in praying for others and each other that will link. Bond. Unite.
Sharing our words with God together as a family? Yes, we’ll keep the cards this year.
* In this day of Facebook, Twitter, email, voice-dialing and smoke signals, I can easily take a moment to share that they were prayed over and the response to this has been on of gratitude. It’s nice to know you are being thought of in our busy culture, no?
Would you like us to pray for you? We would be honored. Please email me at ncsnapp@gmail.com and tell me your name and particular prayer concerns. You can also email us a family photo should you choose!
I’m joining Kristen from We Are THAT Family for “Works for Me Wednesday” and Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience for “Walk With Him Wednesday”. Bless yourself today and visit the others who have done the same.
We do this too! Every morning we draw a new card and pray for our friends — last year we let them know we were doing it, and sent our card early so that people could send requests if they wished.
I love it!
.-= GlowinGirl´s last blog ..Putting Down This Thing My Farewell =-.
Natalie, what wonderful idea! I have been moving our pile of Christmas cards from one spot to another because I have such a hard time throwing them out! We will begin this tonight at dinner. Thank you!
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Day 7 on the 11th =-.
We do a version of this too, so I love how you’re weaving it into everyday life! I have saved all 13 years of Christmas cards from family, friends and they are in 2 (almost 3) albums on my bookshelf, I include a note giving more info so my kids will know how we know them, where they live and any other important info not given within the Christmas greeting. What a thrill it is for us to look back over so many years, so many dear faces and have those memories accessible!
What a fabulous idea! I always hate to just throw those picture cards away; I know my girls would enjoy using them and praying for those friends and family members each night.
.-= Tracey´s last blog ..Simply a Pen =-.
What a fantastic idea! Thank you for sharing this.
.-= Courtney´s last blog ..WFMW- Local Giveaways =-.
What a great idea! I wonder too what to do with the cards. I can’t bear to toss them! Love it, thank you for sharing!
.-= Heidi´s last blog ..Dealing With Unmet Expectations =-.
Thank you for praying for us! We will start this tradition in our house as well! I love your post and inspiring words. It’s nice to relate your stories to our crazy life too! We love you all and look forward to seeing you this year! give my sweet and adorable cousins a big hug and kiss from us!!!!
This is a great idea! What a wonderful to bring to mind “Christmas Card Friends” that we only think about once a year!
This is just the greatest idea and I can’t believe I haven’t thought of it before. We can never pray for each other enough and this is such a wonderful way to teach children about prayer.
Thanks for always inspiring me with your entries! Blessings!
.-= Lea Culp´s last blog ..Hodgepodge Wednesday =-.
Just beautiful. :)
What a wonderful idea!!! Love this!
Blessings,
Melanie
.-= Melanie´s last blog ..A HUGE Giveaway Coming Up from CSN Stores! =-.
Natalie, I adore this idea! I do save all of the cards we receive for Christmas, but sadly they are already packed away. I am definitely putting this on the list for next year, though!
I love this idea. We are going to do this too! Yay…my proscratination on taking them down has finally served a purpose ;)
I love this idea! How fabulous!
We still have our Christmas cards up, so we’ll have to work on that.
.-= Angie @ Many Little Blessings´s last blog ..News That Feels Like Getting Kicked in the Head =-.
We do this, too! Last year I made laminated placemats out of the pictures and each person at the table picked a family off their placemat to pray for. This year I didn’t have the energy to make full placemats, but I did laminate the pictures, so our girls could sort through and handle them during meals without ruining them.