Christmas has always been a special time to me where there is something sort of mystical floating through the air – maybe even an anticipation – that the season of Advent is going to bring about something new and beautiful in me and those I love.
Most of my Christmases growing up involved going to Auntie Janet's house on Christmas Eve with all the cousins and relatives on my dad's side. It was a big to-do with a full buffet feast, stockings, Secret Santas, games, and my favorite Christmas Pinata. The youngest kids always got to start first without the blindfold and slam that pinata, but it usually wasn't until my older brother got a whack at it that it would crash open and a heavenly portion of candy would fall out. I remember traditions being carried down in the family; from my grandmother's SPAM burgers (yuck!) to the pop-the-balloon game, I have always loved Christmas.
Sometimes, our family would go to the candlelit Christmas Eve service, and as a child, the power and serene mystery of the Christmas story always captivated me to listen in. The end of the service would always include a quiet rendition of "Silent Night, Holy Night," and I remember picturing the twinkling stars the shepherds must have seen when angels came to speak to them – how incredible that must have been. My Christmas day most often would involve a traditional ham dinner with my mom's side of the family, and opening presents and stockings.
This Christmas season, I am in a Malaysian hostel with new friends from all over the U.S. and all over the world – France, India, Germany, and Thailand… The gifts I am hoping to receive are not items that I can try to cram into this already-full pack, but a full heart and more and more gratitude for the kindnesses around me.
I think all of us have a special opportunity during the sacredness this season to really celebrate love and all that it is. We are also more in touch with our hurts and losses, and many who have experienced grief know that Christmas is also a time when the loneliness is more palpable than ever. But what it shows me is that our hearts are more in tune to the quiet mystery of the Holy God, to generosity and small kindnesses – we are maybe more in tune than any other time of year with the mystery of love.
Like quiet snow falling in the night, just settling onto the earth like a soft blanket – my prayer for us is that we might give and receive the presence of the Holy God, that we would tell the ones we love why we love them so much, and not let another season go by without appreciating the true gift of Christmas.
