Christmas has moved on…
I remember the days of excitement as a child, as Christmas approached and decorations were strewn about in wonderful displays of color and love. It was a magical time and Mom and Dad always made it special for us.
Christmas Eve came and we were excited for the sun to finally go down, and for the still of the evening to creep silently over our eye-lids. Anticipation led to oft semi-sleepless nights as we pondered what gifts we would get and what wonders and delights the day would bring. And yet, as much as I loved the gifts, it was not just about that. It was about a celebration of love.
Dad would always start the morning by turning to the Book of Luke in the Bible and reading the Christmas story and then we would have a brief prayer. It was always a celebration of Christ the new born King. It was about the giving of gifts, as was His birth to us. It was about the enduring love of God, shared in our family traditions and in our enjoying each other.
But we grew older and Christmas moved on…
It moved from Mom and Dad’s house to ours. It was now my time to read the Christmas story and to pass out the gifts, as Mom and Dad watched and smile the knowing smile of lives well lived and of traditions established and love shared.
Linda and I always found a way to surprise the kids and to do our best to see that they had something that showed our love. It was now not my getting a BB Gun, but giving one to one boy and then the other and something special for Alycia also. It was the sheer pleasure of love and of the unending passages of time and of roles lived, then passed down. Christmas is a good thing. Yes, it reflects the goodness of the gift that started it all –
Isaiah 9:6 - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
But the years have flown by and the inevitable passage of time finds Linda and I no longer administering Christmas. It is a good thing, for all good thing must have an end. The end is in our aging, not in any loss of the eternal love of God and the wonder of His creation. So, this year, we will once again gather our belongings and head to first our daughter, Alycia’s house and then to our son, David’s, and will set with proud hearts and big smiles as our children take the lead and gather up Christmas and present it to their families. Our son Bob will replicate the same tradition in Newport Beach.
Christmas has moved on, but we know where to find it, for it is not a passing fad or a meaningless one-time event. It is an eternal celebration of the wonder that God should divest Himself of His separation from us, take on human flesh with us and triumph, bringing peace to a fallen world.
The full realization of His coming and all that it means is unfolding daily, weekly, and from Christmas to Christmas as we find our ways of participating in the wonder of love and the power of His gift to us.
Yes, Christmas has moved on, and we delightedly move along with it. Merry Christmas family and friends.
In Him,
David & Linda Fritsche
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