Good Morning!
I was 12 years old the year I saw my mother at midnight on a cold, cold Christmas Eve all wrapped up in her sweater and scarf over her pajamas unloading something from the trunk of her car. My mother’s usual bedtime was 8PM. I was old enough to know something was up. And up until then, I believed with every ounce of my being that it was Santa who brought all those wonderful gifts my sister and I always found on Christmas morning. I didn’t know HOW he did it……I just believed he did! It was magic!
Realizing the gifts came from the trunk of Mother’s car rather than a sleigh pulled by reindeer was a terrible yet a wonderful time for me. Terrible in that I had to let go of a little bit of childhood magic and that was hard. But wonderful in that I saw in a more grown up way the love my mother had for me, the sacrifice she and my dad must have made to afford all those sweet gifts under the tree and all those stockings stuffed with goodies.
As I have grown older, I have come to think more deeply about Christmas and the gift of Christ to the world. The same love, the same amazement, the same hope. That God somehow, someway sent a man – a human being just like you and me – into the world. That he somehow broke through from heaven to earth and lived in our midst and continues to be with us in our hearts…..well, when I really think of it, I get that same feeling I did when I was 8 and waiting for Santa. But I know now that the Terri Lee doll and the Barbies and the bicycle and the games and the toys are all gone now.
But, the gift of Christ? That gift grows bigger and bigger and deeper and deeper each day of my life. May it be the same for us all. To let go of the love of things and hold on tight to the gift of Christ – the gift of love and mercy and forgiveness and joy and peace……the gift of life. Those are the gifts that we will carry with us always. Those are the gifts that will change the world!
Love you all!
Rev. Martha