Christmas

 December 25, 2023

The details will fade soon enough: crowding around the dining room table groaning under the weight of trays of cheese, sausages, shrimp, cookies, and Linda’s breakfast egg braid; the wrapping paper wars, the laughter, and the annual photo shoot of the family. What will not fade are the memories of having all ten of the grandchildren together again, along with others who have become family to us. 

Linda and I give our gifts to the kids and grandkids on Christmas Day. Last night, the kids and grandkids had their gift exchange, but also give theirs to us. The best gifts didn’t come from a store; they came from the hearts of these kids, each of whom wrote a short letter to Linda and me, revealing what has meant the most to them over the years. They wrote of the example of love, faith, and faithfulness we have been to them, of the “Meema/Beepa” nights when they would come over to have her mac & cheese and homemade applesauce before playing “Ghosts in the Graveyard,” whiffle ball, board games, finishing off with one of Linda’s Monk dvds, prayers, and pancakes for breakfast the next morning.

None of what we have been doing is out of the ordinary. There were no expensive vacations, no fancy dinners out; just loving on and investing our time and hearts in these kids from the time they were babies. Babies no more, they tower over us in stature, but we kneel at the foot of the cross together, and to read of their desire to have a marriage like ours is a treasure money couldn’t possibly buy. It’s not always been easy; we’ve passed on things we might like to have done, closed the book on hobbies and travel (not much of a sacrifice for Linda) so we could invest in moments that were more fleeting than we knew, but which produced relationships deeper and more lasting than we could have imagined. 

The house is put back in order, wrapping paper ready for garbage day; it’s quiet here in our little corner of the world. Christmas Day is drawing to a close. It’s been a good one for us. Not everyone can say this, so we offer our prayers to the Father that the peace we have to be the peace others will come to know by coming to Christ and letting him rule in their hearts.