Christmas is aimed to be the most benevolently
wonderful moment of the year, the point in time where God fully reached out to
His creation to bring us into the fold.
I have been a Christian my entire adult life,
but have never quite captured this sweet essence of Christmas; rather, I most
honestly associate December with obligatory obligations, deadline stress, busy
to the point of feeling unhealthy, eating to the point of being unhealthy,
and the yoke of how.I’m.supposed.to.feel.
Maggie and I endeavor to develop a simple and
pure relationship between our nuclear family, Christmas, and Jesus, the latter
being the most difficult portion to include in the experience. It is neither
easy nor fully implemented. At a minimum, I hope that our children more
naturally associate this month with Jesus than I do.
I am away from home this Christmas (to be immortalized in my soon to be released Country song). The typical challenges of being away are magnified this week.
For Maggie and me, this is our most service-oriented Christmas yet:
she where she is, and
I where I am.
I hope that our experiences help us embed the
soul of Christmas in our reality.
I hope that my absence from home and my presence
here will help deepen my shallow appreciation for this sacramental celebration.