The Miracle of Christmas
I'll be honest, Christmas doesn't make me feel the way it used to when I was a child. I remember how excited I would get whenever my family and I would decorate our house the day after Thanksgiving with all of our Christmas decorations, how my mom and I would spend an entire day baking our family Swedish Bread, and how anxious I would be during our Christmas Eve Service at church counting the minutes until we could drive to my grandparents' house to open presents. The emotions, the squeals and the joy were unmatched. And somehow, I thought that those emotions and experiences would last forever. But they didn't.
Now that I'm 34-years-old, married and a mom, Christmas looks quite different than when I was a child. Instead of dreaming of all the presents I'll get under the tree, I'm dreaming of all the people I love and wishing they were sitting around my Christmas tree. Instead of dreading the hours it will take to make Swedish Bread with my mom, I'm hoping and praying that we will have many more years to make it together. Instead of being anxious to open gifts, I'm careful to find ways for my son to know the true meaning of Christmas and to find greater joy than material things can give.
All this solemn reminiscing about the past and the long-forgotten traditions of my childhood made me wonder if I had actually forgotten Christmas and if I could find that joy once again. Was my childhood Christmas joy dependent upon the number of gifts I received under the tree? Was it dependent upon me wearing a pretty, sparkling dress or was there something more that actually fueled that endless, childlike faith and joy?
As I looked through boxes of old pictures reminding me of all the wonderful times I had as a kid with cousins and family, I realized that my childhood Christmas joy actually came from something deeper than just the surface adornments---it came from a heart that believed in the miraculous. As a child, I didn't think twice about the joy and excitement that I would experience on Christmas morning! Whether I opened a box of dolls or a box of socks, my big smile never waned. Just the joy of knowing that the great big God of the universe came down to earth as a little baby and to save me was enough for me to be thrilled about any activity at Christmas. If shepherds could see angels and wisemen could follow a huge star to find a tiny baby, then why couldn't other miraculous things still happen at Christmas?
That was it! The joy and faith of Christmas was not found in creating the perfectly decorated house, scrumptious meal or large number of gifts for my family. The joy of Christmas was found in the miraculous, knowing that God still works in human hearts transforming bitter, cold souls into warm, tender vessels again. He still uses a simple Christmas hymn to bring comfort to a lonely widow and He still uses the willing hands of others to clothe and feed those in need. That was what I was missing. That is what truly defines Christmas---knowing the Savior and loving all the people on this earth that He came to love.
So whether you're celebrating this Christmas with a full house of loved ones or trying to forget about it as you sit alone in your apartment, I pray you will not forget the true miracle of Christmas---that Jesus came to love you and love me in a greater way than we could ever deserve. Every part of Christmas wants to reveal new miracles to us. We just have to have childlike faith and joy to look for them, and just maybe we will be someone else's miracle they so desperately need.
*Each of these photos was from the many wonderful Christmases I shared with my brothers and cousins in Kent and Akron, Ohio. They are moments etched in my memory forever.
