And yet, every year I get a little melancholy as I put out Christmas decor we received from family members who are no longer with us. Each piece triggers a memory and I find myself missing that person a little more and feeling a bit sad.
When I was about 12 my parents gave my sisters and me each an ornament, the only one they got specifically for each of us. They were babies with wings and hair color to match ours. Mine was a blue-eyed, brown-haired baby and I thought it was pretty silly at the time. But as an adult, I hang it on the tree every single year.
My mother-in-law, whom I affectionately called "Nona," gave us an elf. There were actually three elves and she gave one to each of her kids. She said they got them in the 1940's and that they were her favorite Christmas decoration. I remember them carefully displayed in their house - and her letting my children hold them as she told them stories of Christmas' past.
My sister-in-law, Karlene, loved Neil Diamond just about as much as I do. She and her husband, John, would go to every concert with us. Whenever I hear a Neil Diamond Christmas song, I remember her and how much we wished he would do a Christmas concert tour.
My other sister-in-law, Karen, gave us a nesting Santa that she and her husband, Dan, got in St. Petersburg when they were there. I loved hearing her stories about their travels and my kids loved opening it and taking out the pieces.
Sometimes something horrific like the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012 grips the entire nation with sadness and loss. While I would not presume to know the gut-wrenching grief the parents of the children or the families of the adults who were killed are experiencing this Christmas, I can be sure it is worse than the sadness and helplessness I feel as I watch the news.
It is at times like these, especially, that we need to remember why we celebrate Christmas. It isn't about holiday decor or Christmas songs or any of those things that we often think makes it "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Instead, we need to focus on the birth of the One who later died for me and for you, the One who knows our heartache and promises to be with us always.
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.
Isaiah 9:6
Very nice post. I was just missing my mom this week. Came across quite a few items I received from her while organizing my house.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I think the baby does look like you ;)
Thanks, Laurie!
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