Christmas is full of traditions, and these are part of what put the magic into this holiday. At home, we wake up early to open stockings and family presents. Then we eat my mom’s wonderful casserole and coffeecake. We go to church and then race home to get ready for family to come over. We have a wonderful meal (usually including ham and cheesy potatoes), open more presents, and spend time hanging out with the family we love. It’s my favorite time of year, and I LOVE traditions. But this year, it was really different because I wasn’t home. I woke up around 8 and instead of a Merry Christmas hug, we blew kisses through FaceTime. I ate a Christmas cookie, a bowl of popcorn, and french toast for breakfast. Instead of spending the day with my family, I spent it at the orphanage with the beautiful family who has taken us in for the holidays. And everyone celebrates Christmas Eve early into Christmas, so the town didn’t wake up until almost noon on Christmas morning.
Not being with my family for Christmas or having Christmas as I know it was hard. But it’s just a different kind of blessing this year. Because when you take away the materialism of it all, are removed from most of your traditions, and celebrate this day more simply, you get to see it for what it really is.
Christmas is the day Jesus came to the earth to rescue us, the day God sacrificed His own Son because there was no other way to save a broken world and He cared that much. It’s the day all the waiting ended, the day the world gained hope.
There’s a song called “How Many Kings” by a band named Downhere. It’s my favorite one this Christmas because it paints a beautiful picture of the meaning and love of Christmas.
How many kings stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me.
I’ve grown up in a family that tries really hard to keep the focus on the real meaning of Christmas, and I’m so thankful for that. But being here far from our normal traditions, with kids who can deliver a more impactful message than some pastors, has made me see the importance of yesterday more than ever before in my life. What if you take Jesus out of Christmas? What if He never came?
We’d still have presents under the tree, and kids would still believe in Santa. Family would gather, and we would still eat too much food. The streets would still be lit up, and homes would still be beautifully decorated. We’d still have Christmas traditions, and it might still be one of my favorite days of the year. But what if that was it? There would be no children singing their hearts out to Jesus in church. There would be no baby in the manger, no celebration of the gift the world had waited for. There would be no hope.
I’ve said before that El Salvador is now considered the most dangerous country in the world for children. Some of the kids at this orphanage (kids who deserved the world but instead had almost everything taken from them) have endured more tragedy, violence, and suffering than many people will in a lifetime. And looking at their young faces, hearing their innocent laughter, listening to them tell us their dreams… it seems so unfair. And this kind of heartbreak and brokenness exists all around the world. But God’s promise isn’t that He will fix the world, but that He will deliver us from it. If Jesus never came, there would be no end for the suffering, there would be nothing for these kids to hold onto, there would be no beautiful ending to the stories of their difficult lives. The brokenness of this would would be as good as it gets.
But He came! Instead of giving up on the world, God gave up His Son. And there is no greater reason for so much celebration on Christmas. I’m away from my family, I’m away from traditions, and one of my favorite days felt so different this year. But if that’s what it takes to share the beautiful meaning of this day, I’d do it all over again. If you didn’t yesterday, I hope you feel the real joy of Christmas today. Merry Christmas, everyone!!! 🙂
Here’s a picture of the family I’m missing and the new family I’m blessed to be with!
