ONE LONG AGO CHRISTMAS

 “As I sit here in my cozy house with the wind and snow blowing outside and Christmas only a few weeks away, I think back a quarter of a century ago to the most beautiful Christmas I ever had!” And that was the beginning of a wonderful Christmas story written by my mother more than sixty five years ago.

Now I sit in my cozy house and listen to the wind blowing outside and the soft strains of Christmas music wafting from the television and my mind goes back to my own holiday seasons of love and loss.

Forty five years ago my high school sweetheart proposed to me on Boxing Day ( on our second date ) and of course I said yes! Ten years ago we had to spring my husband from the hospital for two days so we could have him home with our family for one last Christmas together. Three weeks later he graduated to his Heavenly home.

Seven years ago at Christmas a new seed of love was planted in my heart and grew to include another life partner!

What is it with Christmas? It can be the best or worst time of year for many; it can bring out the best or the worst in humankind. But wait! Is it Christmas or is it how we respond to what is going on around us? When we are feeling down others’ happiness seems amplified to our sensitive eyes and ears. When we are filled with the joy and peace of the season the sad plight of those around us is also magnified, spurring us on to positive action.

And then my mind wanders back again; much farther back to that very first Christmas. The one where a baby boy was born in the worst possible time in history, in the most crude of conditions. As his young mother held him close in her arms, trying her best to shield his tiny body from the chilly air and the curious, wet noses and tongues of various other stable dwellers, I wonder what she was thinking. Did she know what the future would hold for him, knowing he was different? I wonder if she had to purposely shut her mind to the prophecies regarding the future of her new baby. Did she snuggle him just a little more tightly as if that might save Him from what was to come? Was her heart overflowing with a giddy kind of pride and joy, or was it breaking just a little as she considered the path He must walk in this life?

Whatever was on Mary’s heart at that time I am so thankful that she gave Him up freely just as God had already done so that you and I can have a relationship with Him today. He wasn’t just Mary’s son but a gift to the entire world.

And that is why I can celebrate His birthday with joy every year; it is less about what is going on in the world around me than about Who we celebrate at this time. Each Christmas brings us closer to the ultimate party where we will celebrate Him  for all eternity! 

Some days I can hardly wait and in the meantime I continue on my way to the party!