Sunday, December 23, 2012

It's Christmas Time,
     Once Again

The wreath that hangs on my front door silently speaks to me and all who enter each day.  It occurs to me as I finish up my tasks of hustling and bustling that Christmas will arrive without my efforts! No amount of cleaning, or cooking or gift buying or decorating will bring this glorious day about. 

Christmas Day is. It just is. As in, "I AM" 

My favorite Christmas moments are the quietest ones. Late on Christmas Eve with all the packages under the tree, candles lit from the reading of Luke 2, and quiet. . . filling the house. Would Christmas arrive without my purchasing presents for those I love? I wonder each year as the money stretches thin. Could Christmas happen without them? 

One of my favorite Christmases was one in which a stray evergreen branch was our tree, one simple candle lit the room, and a simple gift exchanged was the celebration. We were in Innsbruck,  Austria, my cousin and I. In the midst of our backpacking travels across Europe, we stopped in this beautiful village to celebrate Christmas. We attended an international Christmas Eve candle light service, listened to the singing of Silent Night in many different languages, walking back to our room through the snow covered streets.

These memories are my reminders to cherish the simplest of moments. The hearts of those I love are my greatest treasures.


Through the inevitable disappointments of the season, hurts and struggles. . .


Believe. . . believe in the HOPE that Christ's birth brings.