Merry Christmas

Christmas morning.  Early Christmas morning (5:30), but morning none-the-less.  I have no small children in the house but I’m awake anyway and there are presents under my tree that I’m anxious to open but I’ll let my 21 year old daughter sleep a little longer just because, well, it’s Christmas and I should start the day off being nice, right?!

In a little while I’ll be with my two youngest grandkids and share some of the excitement of Christmas morning with it’s new toys and other surprises wrapped in pretty paper.  There will be laughter and giggles and playing pretend and a breakfast complete with cinnamon rolls. My kids will be the adults in the room and I will love every minute of us being together while realizing time has definitely brought about its changes.

While making preparations for these days of celebration I have replayed scenes of Christmas-past in my mind.  The year our boys got BB guns, our daughter a doll house (that is still played with by her nieces/nephews!), special dresses and suits for little boys and girls, hidden gifts, sleeping around the tree, favorite movies and jubilee cookies.  There was the year Christopher was old enough to read the Christmas story at the family gathering – now he’s a pastor and continues to read that story!  The year Christy got a dress-up box full of great outfits but was too sick to play with it.  One video shows Nathaniel contentedly playing with one toy while the other two move from one thing to another.  Their first Nintendo game system, John Deere tractors and Tonka trucks made of real metal!  We have shared some wonderful Christmas days at our house and although the kids are grown and our routine has changed, we still enjoy great Christmases in our family.  We love being together and having a special day to bless each other with surprises makes it even more fun.

Of course, this week has had a few tough moments as well.  Songs that are beautiful but talk about ‘kissing underneath the mistletoe and people seeing we’re in love’ can be a little hard on the heart.  And why do so many Christmas movies have to deal with someone dying or already being gone and leaving an empty space in the family celebration?  Baking Eric’s favorite cookies and having them turn out almost perfect but not having him here to talk them up was bitter-sweet (however, Christy did his job and bragged on them for me!).

All week long I could hear his laughter over past events and yesterday while cleaning the house I realized he would have most likely been out shopping because Christmas Eve day seemed to be the best time for him to finish – or sometimes start – his shopping!  I miss the way he would splurge on that special surprise for me. Knowing there will never be another piece of jewelry from him under my tree or that every addition made to my kitchen will be purchased by me instead of as a surprise from him is quite sad.  He would love our new tree and it’s simplicity of decorations as well as the ease of setting it up!  How I wish we were both going to share Christmas morning with our grandkids.  As I visit all six of them today, I will wish they could have known him.

At the same time, Eric’s absence makes the Christmas story all the more personal.  It’s because of  “baby” Jesus our eternal destination can be Heaven.  If Jesus had never come in the flesh (John 1:1-5), He could not have been the sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 9:26). He could not have been our Redeemer (Galatians 3:13).  The “manger scene” is a story we have grown accustomed to and sometimes don’t stop to value as we should (Luke 2).

God became flesh.  Imagine that.  Most of us complain if we have to go without our favorite coffee in the morning or scrape our windshield when it has ice on it or live in a place that’s too small. Imagine living in heaven – in perfection – and giving that up to come here and doing it with the express purpose of being a sacrifice for people who won’t understand what you’re doing (John 3:14-17). The little baby we celebrate the birth of today loves us more that we can fathom (John 3:16). Today is proof of His love in action.  Because of today, His birth, I know Eric is celebrating in a way we cannot (yet!) and that we’ll celebrate together again someday. Celebrating Jesus is a perpetual event in Glory, not just a one-day holiday!

Tomorrow our house will be filled with extended family and friends and we’ll laugh and play and share lots of love.  We’ll have a great time and Eric will be missed and while my heart aches over Christmases we’ll never share together, I’m thankful for the ones we had and will cherish those memories; the sound of his laughter, his joy in giving and the way he had of making me feel wonderful.  Those are the best gifts, after all.  Merry Christmas everyone!

These are the special times,

Times we’ll remember.

These are the precious times,

The tender times we’ll hold in our hearts forever.

These are the sweetest times,

These times together.

And through it all, one thing will always be true,

The special times are the times I share with you.

“These Are the Special Times”

written by Diane Warren  sung by Celine Dion