Every year, I say this, "This was the best Christmas ever." And every year, I truly mean that. Christmas is such a special time of year, and as I get older, it is even more so. I now recognize that the Christmas season is about so much more than presents. It is about family. It's about laughter. And most importantly, it is about the birthday of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the reason that I can smile and remember...
Obviously, I can't remember Christmas at a young age. I can't remember certain presents from when I was little, but I can remember Christmas Eve at the Griffith house, with me performing concerts using my handmade wooden microphone and stand courtesy of Papaw Paul, of endless games of Scrabble and cards and of Grandma Bert squealing as she opened her "big" presents. (Grandma has always loved Christmas time).
I can remember going to Papaw Barlow and Mamaw Carrie's house and receiving an envelope with a crisp $5 bill in it. (Worth a million dollars when you realize that they lived on a fixed income and there are a whole lot of us Grandkids to pay...) Of Papaw Barlow turning his hearing aid down so that he can watch wrestling uninterrupted and of making the circle around their house a million times, of sitting on a hot vent to warm up until your bottom became TOO warm, and of Grandma's candy jar that never was empty.
Christmas time at Grandma Na's when it was just me, Jen,and Glenn and we got tons of presents from everyone, and the year that the wall was knocked down and we started drawing names because of the three precious babies. Of Carol of the Bells and fake snow on the windows and the manger scene and the Village that is still set up. Of hiding in Mamaw's closet in the "secret" compartment.
Of climbing on Mom's steep roof to hang Christmas lights and of going to the Christmas tree farm to pick out the perfect tree and of baking cookies and coming downstairs to home-sewn stockings hanging by the fireplace stuffed with goodies.
Of Santa making visits and the year that Caleb thought Santa looked an awful lot like cousin Glenn, of last minute Walmart runs and Legos and his excitement when seeing all of the presents under the tree.
In all of these memories, though, there is one common denominator. Love. Love between my parents. Love between my grandparents, my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Love between my in-laws and Wallace and Caleb, and the love of a perfect God who knew that He wanted us to be in relationship with Him, just like I'm in relationship with my family. Like a good Daddy who works for hours assembling the perfect toy, our Abba Father worked up a plan to redeem us so that we can forever be with Him. That perfect plan came in the form of a baby in a manger over 2000 years ago, of shepherds who wouldn't have been the most likely to receive the best news first, but somehow did through a Heavenly proclamation, of a young teenage girl and her older man who believed the unbelievable. And I can't help but think that He is watching us and delighting in our happiness this Christmas, just as I do with Caleb. Thank you, Lord, for these memories, and for my loved ones that You have blessed me with.
For unto us a child is born...Isaiah 9:6
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