I wish you all a Merry Christmas!!!

 Today, Jon, the puppies, and me are going to have Christmas dinner with my Mom & Dad. We’re looking forward to the time with grateful hearts.

It’s a different kind of Christmas Day for my family though. It’s the first time ever we’re not all together. Mom’s recent illness has left her too weak to travel to my brother’s. It’s okay but different. Change of this kind is hard for me. This is the first Christmas since 1959 I won’t see my brother and my folks won’t see their son. I know he’s sad he won’t get to see us either. Gracie cried when she learned we weren’t coming. Mom said, “I think Christmas is changed forever.”

At my folks house we’ll have lasagna – very different from our traditional turkey or ham. Instead of watching children play and savoring hugs, we’ll watch one our favorite old movies – We’re No Angels. Instead of talking to those we love but can’t see we’ll share our memories of them.

Think I’m complaining? Well, I guess I am. There’s a little bit of whine and a shine in my heart today.

So where’s the shine? His Name is Jesus!

Oh…and there are some twinkles here and there…Mom is still here. Dad’s cancer is not progressing as far as we know. My friend Amy is healing from her motorcycle accident injuries. We got to see some of Jon’s family yesterday. Jon and I had a sweet time last night sharing the gifts we’d chosen to give each other – we didn’t spend a lot and somehow that made it even better. Our puppies delight us every day. (I know at 18 months old they are mostly dogs by now but I think they might always be puppies to us) I have close friends who are of the truest kind. I live in a country where I can read the Word of God and pray openly. Applebee’s still has the oriental chicken salad, snow is beautiful, we have lots of bird traffic at our feeders along with the occasional deer looking for a treat.

There is some glisten too. We are blessed as a family to love each other enough that we will miss each other today. Gracie’s tears both sadden and gladden me. I shed a few myself. I will miss Connor, Olivia, Cooper, and Riley. Kids make the holiday somehow holier don’t they? Seeing it through their eyes – the lights, the presents, the manger story. We’re all still here…none of us is homeless (please pray for those who are!)…and here’s another shine in my whine: we’re all believers in Jesus the Christ!

Mom, Dad, us, the pups, lasagna, and a movie – it’s going to be a good Christmas. Just different.

In a few minutes I will start getting ready. In just a few hours, our house will fill up with the voices of loved ones. The air will smell like egg bake, fruit breads, coffee, and cinnamon candles. The tables are set – 12 are coming and that’s just too crowded for the big table. Four of us will sit at the little table – most likely Terri, her grandboys, and me. The 2 of us big girls sort of all belong at the “kids” table.

We’ll light up the three little artificial trees. They might be fake but I sure do like the way they twinkle.

They’ll stay and talk. We’ll remember Christmases past and ask each other what we think the very first Christmas was like. At least I’ll ask. Then, if I’m not satisfied with the answers, I’ll ask questions that will hopefully get us to dig into the story a little deeper. I’m stubborn that way.

The little boys coming belong to our niece Sarah and her husband Darwin. I used to sit at the kid’s table with Sarah and her brother Mark along with other nieces and nephews. We had a grand time! Today, I’m going to watch her energetic little ones. I know I’ll see her imprint in Jack’s face and in Josh’s ways. I’ll also see their daddy’s stamp here there. What I’ll really be looking at and savoring it in my soul is two little boys created in the image of God. Then, I’ll look at their great grandparents, grandparents, and aunts & uncles present and look for God’s image there as well. I wonder where I’ll see Him in each one. Will I hear Him in Jack’s laugh? Josh’s more serious contemplations? Greatgrandpa’s prayer? Greatgrandma’s tender touch? Uncle Jon’s heart?

The puppies will be delighted to have company and will add to the joyful commotion. We will laugh. We will share. There might even be tears - most of us have had a really hard year. Perhaps today being together and remembering Jesus will ease our burdens a bit. The laughter of children and wagging dog tails usually seem to help.

Right now I can hardly wait until my bunch gets here for brunch!  

Stable living was not the couple’s first choice. We know Joseph sought other lodging. There was none. Except the place God had planned all along. I believe the God who knows everything was not surprised when the only place available was a stable. In fact, it was the perfect place. It was where shepherds would feel free to come and find the baby resting in a manger.

When I think of what my place in the Christmas story might be I always see myself as a shepherd. Ordinary. A little on the raw side. So, maybe I don’t smell as bad…but I can be a stinker from time to time.

I never want to get over the miracle of Christmas and the way God revealed it to regular people.

God appeared first as a baby to an ordinary man and woman. He trusted one to carry and then give birth to His Son and the other to provide for and protect them both. Then He sent an angelic host with the birth announcement, and ushered some guys used to living on the sidelines to the stable to meet their Messiah. A stable full of Life – a life that would be given for them…and me.

These ordinary guys didn’t stand around trying to write off the angelic announcement as a UFO. They recognized heaven’s messengers and accepted the invitation to meet Him. I think they hurried. I’d like to think I would too. I picture myself running to see the One the angels said had come.

Oh I hope I would.

There they found a family living among animals under God’s great night light. And these underdogs of Jewish society got to see Him first. Then these men, saw what many others missed and did what most others refused. They recognized God in the flesh and they worshipped him. What did they see in the face of the baby? Did they recognize salvation’s Son?

In all the instability of life I see this young family as the truest picture we can have today of stable living. The kind where Jesus is adored, accepted, and worshipped no matter how uncomfortable, scary, or painful life is. Where peace rules and chaos puts up a fight but must eventually flee. Where the lost are found and the dead find life. Where comfort is given and condemnation removed. In this season when the hectic often trumps the holy, I want to continue wondering…what was it like in the stable with the Divine?

I don’t want all the answers. Wonder often leads to wonder or in other words when I wonder I usually end up worshipping. And in that transition I experience a tiny bit of what it must have been like for Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds…a little bit of the truest stable living there is.

Mary & Joseph. Two people who had angelic visits and said yes to the messengers. Then, she bore Him and they lived with Him;  the Message – Jesus the Christ – the Good News.

As much as I’m in amazement at the scene in the stable…it’s the trip to Bethlehem that’s on my mind today.

Pre-black top and cement…how does one find a road in the desert? Doesn’t shifting sand cover up the camel tracks from caravans? Or were there landmarks that led them from turn to turn? This might work for me since I’m a bit directionally challenged. North and South mean little but turn left by the pile of stones near the well of whatever might get me there.

Did the couple talk about their dreams? The baby? The census? Did they wonder as they wandered about all they might face in the coming days? Did Mary wish for her mother’s presence as she knew the date of Jesus birth was so near? Did Joseph worry about providing for Mary and the baby when they reached Bethlehem? What sounds did they hear? Sights did they see? Did they travel alone or alone in the company of a caravan? Did the wind howl and the sun scorch? Did Mary ponder all she knew and wonder about all she didn’t? How does a first time mother raise the Son of God? Was the trip good for their marriage? Was the time away from the gossip a relief even if the days were long, dry, and hot? Then later, after another angelic visit, they were once again on the road this time headed for Egypt – running for the life of Jesus. These trips were only the beginning of life on the road for Jesus.

During Jesus time on earth, He walked all over with His disciples, walked to Calvary and out of the tomb, joined two followers on the road to Emmaus and later met Paul on the road to Damascus.

While none of my questions about Mary and Joseph can be answered, my personal ponderings keep me focused on the One who road in her womb. Immanuel. The true King of the road.

The temperature at our house right now is -6 degrees. It’s cold. In fact, it’s downright frightful.

I don’t have a fire going but truly…inside our snug home, it’s truly delightful. We’ll eat a warm dinner and later, we’ll  pop some corn and watch a movie.

Outside the window is the swing Jon hung in the tree for Grace and the rest of the kids who come to play at our house in the summer time. Snow is the only thing sitting there today. It looks fluffy and inviting but really…it’s shiver brrrrrr.

We had snow yesterday and I got my car stuck in our driveway. (it’s about a ¼ of a mile long and uphill – my little Chevy and I did our best but the drift won) Jon got the car out and the driveway cleared. Within minutes, the wind blew it all back in. It’s a very good thing we have no place to go.

There’s a gentle peace in being home with Jon and our puppies. While the wind blows and the snow drifts, we are safe and content. Of course, when Jon puts on a pot of coffee to brew, the experience is even better.

Oh yes, it’s frightful out there…but in here, I’m letting the quiet invade my sometimes unsettled soul.

I’m really trying with Christmas this year…mostly I feel tried.

Sorry. I’m not doing much better than I was yesterday when I wrote Tis the Season.

I have been doing some pondering.

When I read about the star that shone over Bethlehem I wonder…Why did most of the world miss the star shining over Bethlehem? Were three wise guys from far away the only ones who noticed? I understand Herod not getting it…but what about his wise guys? Didn’t he have a few star-gazers on staff? Or was it all about the politics?  

Can you imagine if that star showed up today? We have watchers looking for satellite changes 24/7. Surely this light would get their attention right? Who would break the news of a new heavenly phenomenon – Fox or CNN? What would world leaders say? Would the experts try to explain it away or let it be what it was…a message with a Miracle attached?

Or would we miss it too?

I’m also curious…did Mary & Joseph notice the light leading the way to Jesus? Were they amazed by the celestial light? Did folks in Bethlehem speculate about how heaven’s spotlight shone on their little town?

And then there’s this thought: Psalm 147:4 says, “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.”So…I read this and ask myself, “What was the name of this star?” Maybe that will still be important enough when I get to heaven to ask the Star Maker.

For now, I’m going to take a minute and do a little star-gazing of my own. And, I’m going to let the truth of Psalm 147:4 reverberate through my heart and soul. Every star has name and God knows it.

I mean to be jolly. I do. Instead, I’m feeling grumbly this year. Not quite the Grinch – but close. And, I’m not the only one. We sat in Culver’s tonight (they have great chili!) and I watched people.

Two men nearby argued through a family dispute. Merry they were not. One married couple looked at each other in a way that communicated discord. Mistletoe anyone?  In the corner booth a grandmother shushed her granddaughter for being happy. So much for yuletide carols. My mom was in the hospital. Ho. Ho. Ho.

Okay, there was the young mother who gently wrapped her little one into his car seat. Before she zipped him in, she gave him a tender glance and loving smile. That and my chili made the trip out in the cold worth it.

So, maybe I’ll work a little harder at this jolly thing. I’ll watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and let Linus read Luke 2. I’ll plug in my little Christmas trees earlier in the day. I’ll have a cup of Christmas tea and listen to some carols. Maybe I’ll go to the Mall and look at the decorations, watch some kids being kids, and drink a cup of Caribou coffee (dark roast!).

I really want to be jolly. Tis the season you know.