Christmas Past, Present, and Future

Photo by Free Photos from Pixabay

Christmas doesn’t look like those of my childhood. My parents’ focus was on the Nativity rather than gifts. We opened our one or two presents on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning meant church.

After I married and became a parent, our traditions changed. My late husband and I spent Christmas Eve with my parents, opening gifts and attending Midnight services. Christmas morning, my husband’s parents joined us for coffee and sweet rolls while the kids unwrapped their gifts. My parents joined us and my husband’s folks for Christmas day dinner.  

After my husband’s death, traditions changed again. With my boys grown and on their own with their own families and traditions, my daughter and I spent Christmas Eve with my folks, but with my husband’s parents also passed away, we skipped the morning coffee, sweet rolls, gifts, and dinner.

After my daughter married, we continued the Christmas Eve tradition with my parents and her family. She hosted Christmas dinner. That changed again when my current husband retired, and we moved out of state.

Now my husband and I usually spend Christmas Eve with our close friends and neighbors. Christmas morning, we have our sunrise coffee and sweet rolls, just the two of us, followed by a Prime Rib dinner. Throughout the day we chat with family through phone calls.

I’m sure there will be more changes as our lives continue to evolve, but there is always one constant. As old as I am, I still feel the magic in waking up to a snowy Christmas morning, a day unlike any other time of year. It isn’t the anticipation of presents (my husband and I no longer exchange gifts), nor is it the excitement of company. It’s contentment knowing that the birth we celebrate is the solidification of mine (and your) salvation, the hope of an eternity in heaven with loved ones in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

A recent meme said it well. “Many babies became kings, but only one King became a baby.” Amen.  

 Merry Christmas!