The chaos of Christmas week

Monday, December 15, 2025

The week is in full swing, though I cancel 2 morning meetings. A schedule full of people and tasks lies ahead. W is determined to get some things done today despite a head cold. Resting is not his strong suit.

My dear Uncle Erich sends a video message through a caregiver - ah, it's been months since I've seen his face. This beloved man was a mainstay of my childhood. He has remained close in my heart all these years. He and Mom are the last of their generation in our family, faithful in prayer and love for all of us. We pray for them each day, too.

It's a busy morning. At breakfast, I think about how much I'll miss this guava tree just off the Porch. I won't miss the fence blocking the view of the garden, though. We painted it black a few years ago which made it more fashionable but no less obstructive.

The counters are cluttered with fresh baking: lots of Christmas cookies around here. And in the fridges at work and at home. And in the freezers ...

W has always been into science. He replaces broken light sockets in a former science lab cabinet but maybe that wouldn't be high on his chosen scientific list of to-dos! The shelves will store plates, bowls, and the like in its new chapter.

I map out bathroom lighting and furniture placement between calls and appointments. One mirror is transported between aged sheepskin rugs.

The kitchen fans go full strength to clear out toxic paint fumes. We finally run a dehumidifier full-time and that begins to dry the cabinets inside and out. We didn't want them repainted - it happened along the way before we were watching.

PakG picks up a load, walks the dogs, and returns packing material to the house for the next round.

Chandra hauls our sofa into his truck and brings it over from the office. It fits in the crook of the stair. Thank you!

Danny drops by to share a cool project of his own. He delivers some art and recognizes some pieces I purchased from their gallery when we first came to Bandung.

"I wondered where that went," he says of a multicoloured sand painting he picked up in China. It's goes well with an orange kilim rug, both favourites of mine.

Supper is dumplings, but the dough wrapper takes 20 minutes on boil to soften. What on earth? Giveaway or toss?

DrW drops off some celery - I love the smell.

At the Project, one of my favorite palm tree soars overhead. The sharp leftovers from cut fronds need pruning or the trunk will rot. The yardman misunderstands what I ask. When I look a few hours later, all the lower fronds have been cut off (same long chop) and tossed against the fence in the compost heap. Oh oh.

As I walk back and forth between properties, I notice flaming-red flowers, thriving in the neglected yard of a neighbour. "Leave it alone and it will grow!" seems to be the plant motto of Indonesia.

Tuesday

Mom's caregivers decide it's time for palliative care.  Each day that we can talk to Mom is a blessing for us but hard on her. She is looking forward to seeing Jesus with all her declining might. Each time we pray together we ask God for a merciful Home-going. What a strange season this is. We cannot stop living so we keep wrapping up the last years, waiting for the call.

To keep my mind steady, I do what women in our family have always done when pressured: we work with our hands. Before the helpers arrive at 8, I empty the freezers and put blankets on the things we won't take. After a load of laundry, I write instructions for movers and helpers.

Usually the women would be doing Christmas baking but they baked like the furies for a few weeks. They wash the freezers and ovens, sort through heaps of frozen food for their families, and clean under appliances that haven't been moved for a few months. In the tropics, you can only imagine what's under there.

PakG snags his own helper to shift things. Later in the week, he comes down with typhus and is out of commission through Christmas. He sends someone else to sweep porches and leaves off the driveway on Christmas Day.

We pack and unpack, pack and unpack. The boxes disappear as they are emptied onto shelves and into cabinets. The way the kitchen has landed, there's no telling what's where. 

I think the plan is to store things however they fit. We'll put things in order later, though it looks better as we go.

Rest of the week

W sends a note to the owner that we will move in on the weekend. There is no bedding left to sleep at the other place. Others still live there, along with our satpams, the dogs. 

Mom's getting weaker and weaker but we try to talk and pray together daily. Norm's doing double duty since the lead caregiver is very ill. We're praying for her recovery, day by day.

Alice and the helpers pack cookies and send some to the staff of #Nara, our "home-away-from-home" kitchen.

W and I speak on Sunday, kicking off the final week of Advent: PEACE as foretold by the angels. 

One hiccup is when 5 ants crawl onto my my foot and start biting me. I swipe them off and crush their fellows. Peace again.

Another more painful interruption to focus is the increasing pinch of initially very comfy shoes. By the end of the talk, they have contracted into a vice. I can hardly stand because my toes are in such agony. I go home right after and take off the shoes. They may be new but I give them away.

The kids sing for the congregation. What joy to watch them.

Titik has done wonders with flowers on the stage and around the Advent candles.

Our company has made other lunch plans. In comfier shoes from home, W and I walk up to Homeground. It hits the spot with spicy Szechwanese food. We're so tired we hardly know what's up or down so it's mostly a day of rest after the Gathering.

Monday and Tuesday

The house fills with dump after dump of boxes and bags. Oh look, is that the Christmas tree box?

I decorate as a break from unpacking other things. I only have energy to put half the ornaments on the tree, which is still plenty. We hoist it up onto a table and wrap the base with a kids' carpet we found years ago. I cut a slit to the middle and voila, it's a tree skirt. I drag silver garlands across the front of the art we've popped on the picture rails.

Empty full empty full. But Christmas Day is coming. Each day we sort and stash.

The furniture gradually shifts into place - from this

to this.

W redoes the wiring for lights in the science cabinet = where the dishes will go. Oops, half the moulding holding the glass panels in place is missing. So far the glass hasn't fallen out ... that trim will need replacement.

Read more:

* Why do you contend against God, saying, “He will answer none of my words?” For God speaks in one way and in two, though people do not perceive it. Job 33:13-14

* Even when you turn gray I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. Isaiah 46:4

* Show respect for widows who really are all alone. 1 Timothy 5:3

* Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Revelation 2:7

Moravian Prayer: Abba, Father, sometimes it is in the stillness that we can hear you best. Sometimes when we pray, we are so busy saying our words and distracted by our thoughts, that we’re not listening. Open our eyes, ears, mind, and heart to discern your will.

Great Comforter, help us to remember that, when trials and tribulations come in life, you are not a God that runs away, but you find ways to pull us closer to your love. For that tenderness, we give thanks. Amen.