Burton Family Christmas in July

By Diane Mayfield –

The weekend after the Fourth of July, my brother, sister and I with our spouses, children and grandchildren held our first Burton Family Christmas in July. It was a blast.

Usually we all gather at my house on Christmas Day. Now that some of the cousins are married, Christmas gatherings are more complicated. Then we added two grandbabies and two more on the way. Getting together on the holidays blew up as the family expanded.

This is a family that grew up playing together. We enjoyed many beach vacations as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas. None of us wanted to lose connection and we all wanted to know the babies and the new spouses. So the idea of The Burton Family Christmas in July came to light.

I rented a house on Lake Travis with a pool and a boat dock for the adult siblings and spouses to stay in. That would be our home base. Dave and I currently lease a house not far from Lake Travis that would accommodate all the cousins. The two houses were only 10 minutes a part.

Dave and I went over earlier than the others were scheduled to arrive to check out the place. We discovered that our lake house with its boat dock sat on dry land. Due to the drought in Texas, the cove was dry. Oh, what a disappointment. The good news was that the marina where we dock our boat was only 5 minutes away. In fact, we drove the 6- passenger golf cart over there. The pool was great. There were even two grills under an outdoor cabana for the cooking of our steaks and vegetables on Saturday night. Four bedrooms and a large kitchen and living space easily would accommodate the sixteen of us.

Gary and Marilyn, my brother and sister-in-law, arrived a day early so we could enjoy the house all to ourselves for a time. Then we started to decorate. I stayed with the Fourth of July theme instead of Christmas. We put up 75 little flags in the flowerbeds lining the front of the house. The American flag and Texas flag flew in proper order on the pineapple finials at the front gate. Next, we decorated the six-passenger golf cart with cheesy red, white, and blue bling and made a sign for the back of it declaring the “The Burton Family Christmas machine.”

Friday afternoon, everyone began to arrive. The kitchen filled with food. The refrigerator overflowed with ingredients that promised to fill our stomachs to the max. The kitchen echoed with chatter. Coolers with drinks lined the back porch. It felt like a true Christmas holiday.

Some jumped in the pool. Others baked and created delicious offerings in the kitchen. Deck chairs were pulled together for conversation. We all delighted in just being together.

We did not exchange gifts.

Maybe for the first time, we got it right. We gave the gift of ourselves in conversation, in play and in working together to prepare meals. I think it was the best Burton Family Christmas ever.

Being a Delight

Diane Mayfield –

I was waiting in anticipation for my granddaughter to arrive. Dave calls out, “They are here.” I walk out to my son’s car and open the door to the back seat. My granddaughter smiles widely and giggles with delight. Her arms reach up for me to take her, which I do. We are inseparable until I put her to bed that evening.

It’s quite non-stop when my two-year-old Anna arrives. “DeDe come here. DeDe, help Anna.” I play when she wants me to and I watch her play, coming when she calls for help. Wanting nothing more than to please my Anna, I submit to her every desire to be by her side.

I walk downstairs in the morning and speak her name. She runs to me with open arms, almost flying into mine. I pick her up and we embrace for the first time that day. Truly, she lights up my day simply by being my granddaughter. I love that she loves to be with me. She delights in my presence and I in hers.

Delight is a word I ponder quite a bit. To me it is an indescribable feeling. I delight in peaches and ice cream. I scream with delight when my favorite movie plays on television. I jump with joy when I see the dolphins at the beach. Scripture says that the Lord delights in me. I often wonder how. And it says that I am to delight in Him. How does the most Holy God, perfect and complete in ways that I cannot comprehend, delight in me? In what ways do I show my delight in Him as well? I think I’m learning some of these answers from my precious granddaughter.

Anna and I are in a relationship—an unconditional love relationship, which will never change. She is my granddaughter and I her grandmother. I loved her from the day she was born, before she knew who I was. I loved her when all she did was eat and sleep. Now she interacts with me. I love to see the world through her eyes and I delight in her discoveries. Even when she’s challenging as two-year-olds can be, I welcome the interaction with her in the process. To have a relationship with this little person is one of the greatest joys of my life. She loves that I love to be with her. I enter her world and am involved in her world, just as she is.

Here’s the learning. This is how the Most Holy God of the Universe feels about me, his daughter. Even in my immaturity, He delights in my process. He loves that I call His name in the morning and rush to be with Him. He watches over me and runs to my aid when like Anna, I say, “God, help Diane.” He delights in our relationship, not my performance. He delights in me simply because I am me. I bring Him delight by wanting His involvement and presence with me. I believe being together is His delight.

Once again, from a little child I learn profound truths. My prayer is that I too delight in my Lord just as my adorable Anna delights in her DeDe. And, that I wrap myself in the truth that I too am a delight to my Lord just by being his daughter and calling His name each and every day.

True Freedom

By Diane Mayfield –

This past Memorial Day I was flooded with thoughts of those brave men and women who fought for our freedom through the years and those who choose to fight today. Then my thoughts became more personal and I thought of my dad who died almost 20 years ago.

A young man of 18, he chose to join the Marines and left for the Philippines to fight in World War II. He never talked about those years and yet I know they molded him for life. Before he left, his grandmother gave him a Bible that he carried the whole time he was there. I came upon that Bible after he died. I have it today. It’s quite a treasure to me.

Sometime before he died, not knowing at the time that my dad’s days were numbered, we had a conversation about Heaven. He said he knew where he was going; that he had made his peace with the Lord many years ago. My dad was not a religious man most of his life. When I was in eighth grade, he converted to Catholicism and then began attending church, but his faith was always very private to him.

My dad and I didn’t enjoy a close father-daughter relationship for years. In fact, I didn’t really like him or want to be with him for most of my life. It wasn’t until I trusted Christ my senior year in college that my attitude toward him changed. Many things changed for me that year as a result of Jesus in my life. My appreciation for my parents, especially my dad changed. I wanted to be with him. We had long talks about politics, history, work and other life issues. We played tennis together and went out to lunch.

He died too early, just when we were really beginning to know each other. God gave me a gift that day when my Dad and I talked about Heaven. Then after he died, I found his Bible. I believe it was God’s way of letting me know that my Dad was truly free in eternity with Him and I would see him again someday.

Now we look forward to another holiday of freedom celebration—July 4th. In this country, we have several days where we remember freedom fought and gained for us as Americans. There’s also The Emancipation Proclamation where slaves were finally declared free. In Texas, we recognize Texas Independence day. The Civil Rights movement is another celebration of freedom.

But the real beginning of freedom was that day thousands of years ago when our Lord Jesus died on a cross. The sky darkened, the temple curtain was torn in two, and the real fight for freedom began. Three days later, it was won. Jesus was raised from the dead. Death and Satan were defeated for good. True freedom was then made possible for all mankind.

Each day when I bring my heart before my Lord, I am reminded of that freedom. He continues to show me truth about this world and myself. I am set free from the power of sin and darkness to choose the light of His Spirit in me.

I join with other Americans in remembering those who fought for our earthly freedoms but I cannot stop there. I must start with my Lord Jesus who showed me the real truth as He promised and set me free for all eternity.

“You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32 NIV).

Surprise Gift

By Diane Mayfield –

I read Jarrod Spencer’s article “Surprise Me, God” and thought that was a great thing to ask God for each day, sort of like daily gifts. Being a girl who likes surprises, I asked Him, “What surprise do you have for me today, God?”

Then it happened. I rushed to get ready for my morning meeting. I stepped out of the shower, bent over to wrap a towel around my wet hair and felt a piercing shot in my hip. Then my legs tingled and almost went out from under me. I gasped with pain and managed to sit on my stool. It took my breath away and I was afraid to move. Was that my surprise?

I gingerly managed to stand. Back pain is not new too me but this sort of pain was. I thought if I could sit here, I might be able to finish my make-up. I wish I could say that I prayed at that moment, but I don’t recall if I did or not.

I was hosting my small group that night. Fortunately, all the preparations were made ahead of time. Don’t ask me why. Let’s just say it had to be God’s provision. I canceled all my appointments for the day, took massive doses of Advil and laid on an ice pack with my knees bent.

I tried get up for small group but the pain was too intense. I could only sit for a few minutes at a time and the pain drained me. So to the bed I went. I heard the hellos and laughter as the group arrived. I was missing out on the fun and I hated that.

Suddenly my bedroom door opened and in walked my sisters in Christ as I lay flat on my back with my knees on a pillow. I was not at my loveliest to say the least. Here’s the surprise gift. They all gathered around me, touching me wherever they could and prayed. They prayed for my healing, for the correct doctor, for my ability to rest in His care and for God’s will to be done. We joked that now I should get up and take my mat. That didn’t happen but my soul was totally uplifted, deeply touched and encouraged. My spiritual family surrounded me with loving kindness and care, refreshing my soul with their prayers on my behalf, touching and nurturing me.

I was the one who was to be the hostess that night, the giver and the nurturer. Instead I was the receiver. And quite honestly it’s not a place that I like to be. That was my surprise gift. In my humbled state, flat on my back, I felt so loved and cared for by Him through my sweet sisters in Christ.

Now, I didn’t really fully get all this until the next day when I recalled my prayer for a surprise. Then I was struck with a pinched nerve. You might wonder if that is the way God answers prayer. Thankfully I did not go that direction, although there have been times that I might have. No, His surprise was that instead of my doing, I was to receive His love from the spiritual family that He brought into my life. I had to be still first to receive His love from others. Many times wonderful gifts come from being still.

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NIV).

A Return on Our Investment

By Diane Mayfield –

Raising children is quite a lengthy investment with no real guarantee of a certain return. It’s probably the only investment my dear husband embraced with me that had no tangible outcome. We raised three children, two years apart, all believers. That is worth the investment for sure but there have been others.

While raising them, we prayed together, read Scripture as a family and were involved with our church. We set boundaries, gave them responsibilities and established consequences for their choices. Family traditions were important to building family values and cohesiveness so we created many, like vacations to the beach and skiing. I planned evening meals together for most days. In short, we did what most Christian parents do. We did the best we could to “train them up in the way they should go” (Proverbs 22:6 NIV)

For us that meant, not only appropriate discipline and exposing them to Christian values but also discovering with them who God created them uniquely to be. That meant allowing for self-expression that wasn’t always pleasant or what we would have chosen, like the time we allowed our son to get a spike haircut. Our thought was that if we allowed choices of self- expression that were harmless, he might not feel the need to make more self-destructive choices.

Then the teenage years hit and the roller coaster began. Verbal self –expression of feelings and desires played into the discovery. I’ll never forget the day my 16 -year old- son said to my husband, “I want to punch you out right now.” My husband calmly said “You seem really angry. How come?” An honest conversation ensued. My son’s anger dissipated. Peace was restored to the family.

Frankly, I wasn’t sure what path our son would follow. A few years ago, we begin to get a return on that investment. One evening, our son and his wife were sitting with us on the back porch of our home. He had just won a big sales award and we were celebrating. Here’s the first return. He said, “You know I would never have won this if it wasn’t for you guys, especially you Dad. You gave me my work ethic and that’s what won it for me.” Wow! Dave and I were blown away. Those words were like a taste of rich, creamy homemade ice cream. A return we had only hoped for but didn’t know it would really come.

Another return came several months ago. My son called and asked if I would talk with him before I left for home. We spent the next two hours discussing the dynamics of our relationship. I was so proud of my son’s relational courage.

One more stands out to me happened a few weeks ago. He sent a forward from a friend. He wrote in his e-mail “this really speaks to me.” It was a verse from the book of Phillippians.

There have been other sweet returns from the invested years of parenting. All our children practice some of our family traditions. The beach is still very important in their lives. They are all believers though they express their faith differently. Our son and his wife lead a small group last year in their church. His wife told me he seems to have the gift of teaching. What a sweet return.

I really had no idea if our parenting years would reap the investment I longed for. But, we have received abundantly more than we could have asked or imagined, as only the Lord would do.

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