As I was waiting and thinking about what to post today, inspiration, as it always does, struck.

Every year I pick a day between Thanksgiving and December 1 to change out my seasonal decorations. It takes a while to pack away Fall because I have A LOT of decorations. Then I slowly bring out the Christmas collection.

About two years ago, I wanted to do something different on my fireplace mantle. Looking through my boxes, I found some houses that I hadn’t been using. I think I was waiting until I decided to construct a Christmas village.

As I stripped the mantle, it occurred to me that sometimes in our lives we may feel stuck, uninspired, or perhaps life isn’t going great. Maybe we’ve let our relationship with God cool off. If we recognize what is going on, we can get rid of the hindrances and allow God to work on us.

Slowly, as we seek God, He can begin to rebuild us. It may take a while. Perhaps it’s done in layers. Each year I fine tune my collection by adding a little more. Imagine what God can do for us if we are patient.

When we get to the point where we feel stronger, it’s like seeing this little village come together. We can finally see what God had been building in us.

In my town, the dimensions are not correct. I haven’t made sure every piece is to scale. I have larger and smaller houses next to tall or short trees. Some characters are bigger than others. Nothing is perfect or shaped exactly as some might think it should be. But when taking a step back, I can see that the changes are just right. It’s like looking at life through God’s eyes.  

My wish for this Christmas is that God would speak to each and every one of us. Perhaps we need to make some changes or start from scratch. Allow God the time to speak so we can rebuild the way He sees fit. Then we can be ready for all the wonderful things God has in store for us going forward.

Merry Christmas!

Tara Randel is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. Family values, a bit of mystery and of course, love and romance, are her favorite themes, because she believes love is the greatest gift of all. Look for her next Harlequin Heartwarming romance THE SURPRISE NEXT DOOR, available May 2025. For more information about her books, visit Tara at www.tararandel.com. Like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TaraRandelBooks.