I Heard The Bells Traditional Cache

     You are looking for a micro-cache.  B.Y.O.P., and you may need some tweezers to get the log out.  Using a gift I received at the Oklahoma Geocachers Christmas Party.  Please do not pull down from its hiding spot, and re-conceal when done! Lots of Muggles on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.

     This cache was inspired by the devotional message our pastor, Dennis Newkirk, gave on Christmas Eve.  To summarize, the first Christmas wasn't perfect.  It was a big mess: an unwed teen mother, a bad-timed road trip for a mandatory census, no room at the inn in Bethlehem, giving birth (messy!) in a cave, having to wrap one's child in dirty cloths and place him in a feed trough, the aroma of shepherds and sheep.  Everything wasn't "right," but everything was the way God wanted it.

    American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the words to "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" after the loss of his wife, and after his son was severely wounded in the Civil War.  Sitting over his wounded son, he wrote on Christmas Day, 1863:

     And in despair I bowed my head;

     "There is no peace on earth," I said;

          "For hate is strong,

          And mocks the song

     Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

     Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

     "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

          The Wrong shall fail,

          The Right prevail,

     With peace on earth, good-will to men."

     Many of us face painful holidays.  Our lives aren't "right"--depression, broken relationships, loss/absence of loved ones, loss of employment, etc.--our lives are broken....

     ... but God is still there, with a plan for good.  He does not expect us to be perfect before we seek Him, but He hopes that we will seek Him (true perfection) in the midst of our imperfect circumstances. Hoping this cache lifts your spirits! Thank you for looking for it.

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."  (Matthew 11:28)