Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve Ruminations

Pin It I sat on the front porch in the cold night air, as the lights of Tremonton twinkled below me in the valley, like the stars veiled above a layer of cloud. The heavens were silent this evening, no hints of vanilla showers as the lights of the city reflected off of their gray surface.

As I waited in the soft hush, I thought a lot about Christmases of the past. You see, when I was a little boy, Christmas was about presents. It was about having a tree draped with twinkling lights. It was found in the songs jamming the airwaves. It was all about snow, sleigh bells, and reindeer on the rooftop. These were the things that constituted Christmas to me. It was a night besieged with wonder and the thrill of what was yet to come.

As the years have trudged onward, I’ve got older; Christmas has since lost a little bit of the magic it once held for me. Not because Christmas itself has changed – but rather because I have. Something happened in the space of years – something that seems to happen to each of us at one time or another in our lives. It’s a shift from what Christmas used to be, into what it becomes when we find ourselves losing the excitement of the morning sojourns to the tree flocked with presents around its underside.

For some, Christmas becomes a lonely time, besought with empty dreams and seclusion from the rest of the world. It can be an unpleasant reminder of loved ones now gone, and a terrible remembrance that life does indeed go on without them. For those who feel this, I would like to quote Chris Heimerdinger, author of A Return to Christmas who said, “[Christmas is] forever constant, representing hope in the face of despair. Life in the face of death. And light in the face of impenetrable darkness. Every Christmas morning [should] begin with a glorious sunrise. And every Christmas day should be accompanied by a song on the wind [speaking] of things more beautiful than the eye can see and more wonderful than the ear can hear. We may grieve, but Christmas will still come every year. Christmas is still first and foremost a day of healing. A day of embracing everything good and wholesome in this world.”

For others, the focus of Christmas becomes something more than self, more than presents, more than music and snow. Christmas comes to illustrate its true meaning, intertwining with the birth of the Savior in a lowly manger 2,000 years ago. One who would one day sacrifice all that He had in anticipation of reuniting each of us with the Father of Heaven and Earth.

This, my friends, is the true meaning of Christmas.



The Christmas Story - as told by the children of St. Paul's Church. Thanks Vanessa, for originally leading me to this clip...



And let me be the first to wish you all a very Merry Christmas...

19 comments:

mamahasspoken said...

Merry Christmas Jason!
That was an awesome video.

Yanet @ 3 Sun Kissed Boys said...

Beautiful post. Merry CHRISTmas to you as well.

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas!

That video is just precious. Tank you for sharing. =)

Kalei's Best Friend said...

It's definitely NOT about the presents!..omg, this was precious... btw, I really didn't have to see the 'poop'.....:-)
Merry Xmas to you!.

Connie said...

Hope you have a very wonderful Christmas day!

Enjoy your time in Tremonton!

tammy said...

Merry Christmas Teach!

Mrs. Cunningham said...

A very Merry Christmas to you, too!

Jenny Lynn said...

Merry Christmas!!

Debbie said...

Very nice post! Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas!

Jamie said...

I loved the video and really enjoyed your words of courage. I pray that this Christmas is a special time for all. Merry Christmas.

A Lark said...

Amen.

Mama-Face said...

That was, (this is?), the most touching post I've read in a long time. Thank you so very much for sharing. I hope your Christmas was a Merry one.

(Loved the vid. I've never seen such adorable sheep in my life).

TisforTonya said...

that is just the stinkin' sweetest telling of the Christmas story I've seen all week (and trust me, I've seen quite a few this week!)

hope your Christmas was perfect!

Vanessa said...

"Jesus had two daddies"

I love her little voice.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Sara @ Domestically Challenged said...

Beautiful. Thank you

Cheeseboy said...

Your musings are spot on. Christmas has changed for me as well. At least the feeling of it. It is still good, but in a very different way.

The video is terrific, albeit slightly flawed doctrinally. It's their accents that make it so great.

Mr. Hughes said...

21 BAGS of M&M's!!!!! You ARE an addict! lol
Well, Merry Christmas to you! Makes me wish I would have bought a couple of bags myself!

Mindee@ourfrontdoor said...

Well said.

On Christmas Eve our pastor talked about the story behind the poem "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was a lot of what you're feeling here.

Life is not for the faint of heart.

Nuttley said...

How did I miss this?

This was beautifully written and the video is adorable. And since I am always late at everything Happy (belated) Christmas TF. I hope it was fantastic!

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