Merry Christmas 2011

Well, another Christmas has come and gone.. It’s just been kinda weird for us this year.. I am still recovering from my “simple” surgery and this past week both James and I have been sick with coughing and sore throats... ugh.... We did not decorate nor did we put up a tree. Sad, yes, and neither of us feel like it’s been “Christmas”...

So, I asked James, “what is Christmas suppose to ‘feel like’ anyway?”  What a thought to ponder... And ponder I have...

 

As a child, Christmas meant "presents"..... cold weather, Christmas carols, Dad decorating the outside of the house with lights while mom "gave some direction"... It meant having the neighbors over to share in a HUGE feast, from which we would eat for weeks to come, or so it felt.

 

As a parent of young children, Christmas meant staying up late on Christmas Eve (reading the directions....ya know what I mean?) and getting up exhausted EARLY on Christmas morning to the excitement of our children's voices..... Quickly packing food in the car and heading to "grandma's house".  (Just a side note... why is it that we always called it Grandma's house when Grandpa lived there as well?)  Okay, so off we would go for a fun filled day with family!

 

Now, as a certified "adult" (65 years old qualifies me for that title) the grands are all scattered about and our Christmas day had become so much, shall we just say "quieter"..

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So this brings me back to my question, "What does Christmas feel like?"

 

I will start with today... Christmas Sunday.. We began our day with prayer, then off to church to enjoy the blessing of a young couple dedication their infant son to God....then came the Lord's Supper..... Always an awesome experience... Hugs from friends, and a wonderful feeling of peace on earth... All reminders of what and why we celebrate CHRISTmas in the first place....

 

This night, as Christmas draws to a close, I can tell you that Christmas feels like "peace, and with that comes hope and the assurance that the  promise God made to us over 2000 years ago, is still good today... He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from eternal separation from Him... a promise that is eternal... That, my friend, is what Christmas feels like..

 

Living By Grace,

Marti