I am a sucker for the feeling of Christmas, yet it seems the older I get the harder it is for me to connect with the Christmas vibe. Yes, it's awesome to experience Faith and Connor's anticipation for Santa, and their Christmas lists are amusing to say the least. Yes, the decorations are beautiful and the lights sparkly, but year after year I feel like I'm losing the ability to quickly connect with the spirit of the season. It's wonderful to hear Faith tell be about why Christmas is really important, to read Christmas stories and to watch Christmas movies with the kids. But I still am having trouble connecting. Perhaps it's because I'm "getting older" or maybe it's because sometimes the world just kinda sucks: families can't make ends meet, people steal money from charity, families lose loved ones, students lose their homes days before Christmas, and on, and on...
But this year, thanks to a beautifully written blog by my friend Kelly, I am thinking about Christmas with a different perspective. In her blog, she reminisces about her grandmother's store-bought cookies which she was accidentally able to replicate in a what-can-I-make-that's-quick-and-easy kind of moment. She also reveals that, for her, "Christmas tastes like butter and sugar." In other words, Christmas tastes like comfort...and for me, comfort feels like a mug of hot coffee held between my hands; it gives me that warm-from-the-inside-out feeling. It makes me pause and think about how wonderful it is to be still and to have that mug in my hands.
So that was all it took this year. Reading that blog made me realize that for me, Christmas is about comfort in all its various forms - from the ease of family time after bustling days to the unexpected warm and fuzzy moments provided by strangers. It is comfort in knowing that when Grandpa Bogard opened his presents this year, he did so with a full head of hair - a visible sign that his fight with cancer is now behind him. Perhaps a few moments of comfort will be provided to the two families that NHS has adopted for the holiday; their gifts (basic necessities) were picked up yesterday afternoon, and I can't stop praying for their comfort in this trying season. Comfort is also found in knowing that my father-in-law is happily employed and seeing that they can take a deep breath, which they might not have been able to take last Christmas. Comfort is frequently found in those comfy-PJ-moments with Kevin and our kids...On Monday night, Kevin watched home videos with them while I dipped pretzels for the teachers' gifts - there was a sense of perfection mixed into the mess and chaos. Lunch dates with friends, four full weeks with my sister, liberally poured glasses of wine, finding just the right gift paired with short lines, watching Polar Express, listening to the kids say their prayers, turning in my last set of finals, Kevin's promotion, hugs from people I love, celebrating life...comfort, comfort, comfort.
Each night when the kids and I pray, we celebrate the love in our lives: friends, family, colleagues, teachers...because without that love there would be so little to celebrate. So, this Christmas and for all of next year, I wish you moments where you can be still enough to enjoy that warm-mug-in-your-hand feeling.
Sending you so much love,
Sarah
