December 23, 2020

Photo Credit: Don Flowers

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.     John 3:16

At this time of year, we are preoccupied with the “present” -the timeframe, not the gift. At Christmas time, the present means being crazy busy, trying to get things done. We also look to the “future”, which is often overwhelming because of the sheer number of things left to do in the future before Christmas. The shopping, the meal prep, making sure the gifts are mailed, making sure we have something for everyone on our list.  Don’t forget the parties (which often seem more like “just one more thing”), the rehearsals, the obligations and the Peace of Christmas- where is that anyway?

During COVID, our family has actually been living more in the “past”, as we have been taking apart almost 70 photo albums from the 1920’s to the 2000’s.  We have sorted, purged and remembered from thousands of photos from a family that is camera obsessed. Many of the highlights involved family Christmas dinners, photos of young children with eyes aglow, plus the usual assortment of family trips and adventures. We have also revisited great grandparents, our parents when they were young, photos taken during wartime and peacetime.

The memories just kept coming, and to our surprise, rather than remembering frustrations with travel planning, cranky children, spilled food, or poor weather, we noticed the recurring presence of love. The smiles, the joy in being together, the faces of loved ones no longer with us, the changes in hairstyles, home decorating and boyfriends. In the “present” we get lost in the details, but when we think more deeply and reflectively, we remember the good times and the love.

Things that, in the “present”, seem insurmountable are set into perspective, and we realize that there is a bigger picture. Christmas is about making memories, and not about getting stuff.

God’s love was sent from heaven to show us the way, and we need to keep that closer to our hearts as we deal with the busyness of the season. We are doing this out of love, first and foremost for the God who showed us love in a humble stable, not in the fanciest restaurant or through the most extravagant gifts. Our children reminded us of this several years ago when we decided against gift giving completely (except for the young children) and made the decision to put our money towards helping those who are struggling.  This has both reduced the craziness, but also given us time and headspace to be present in the best way, and to simply enjoy the love.  That is the true gift of Christmas.

Prayer: (from hymn 227 Voices United)

Loving God,

for the wonders that astound us,

for the truths that still confound us,

most of all that love has found us,

thanks be to God. Amen.

Barbara Rushton is a “not very retired” educator from New Minas. With her husband Bob, she shares two remarkable daughters and the two best grandsons in the world. She loves everything about Christmas.