Growing up Christmas was family time. It all started on Christmas Eve with dinner
and presents with my dad’s family, then Christmas morning was our own special
time, from there we went to lunch at Grandma Butch’s house and finished our
evening at Grandma Carol’s house. It was
pretty much non-stop Christmas for 48 hours.
That’s what Christmas is to me.
Of course, yes, the real meaning of Christmas is Christ’s birth. Our Lord and Savior humbled himself and came
to Earth so that he could die and free us from sin. But my Christmas has always been spent
celebrating that with tons and tons of family and food!
I find myself longing for that on this Christmas day. We have tried to make it special and we have
and are going to skype with family but something is just missing. The girls woke up bright and early this
morning to open their gifts from us. We
decided to keep things simple and do four gifts apiece. (Something you want,
something you need, something to wear, and something to read) Then of course there is grandparents, aunts
and uncles presents mixed in there.
After gifts this morning and a short Skype with my family we went to church. This was a nice, new tradition. I think we all really enjoyed it (of course
Micah made fun of me because I took stickers for the girls… Santa Clause of
course! :P) And then we turned into THAT
family…. That family that I always feel sorry for on Christmas… That family
that goes out to eat on Christmas. As we
rode in our tuk tuk through the hot, dusty streets of Phnom Penh the Christmas
spirit just kinda dissipated… Cambodians don’t really celebrate Christmas. Life
was going on as normal. Kids were
getting out of school, everything was still open, and our tuk tuk driver
charged us way too much.
So, after we have had our food coma Christmas nap, I am
sitting here trying to figure out what Christmas is. How do I make Christmas special for my family
like it always was for me growing up. How are we going to celebrate the birth
of our Savior? I can hear the girls in
the other room… to them this is just another day. Yeah, they got new toys this morning but how
do I show them that Christmas is special? I can’t help but feel homesick and
wish I could just take them back to America for one day. But this is the broken world we live in. Human traffickers have ruined that chance for
us and we just look forward to the day we can have full adoptions and take them
home for good. (but that is another post)
For now I think we will focus on the hope that this Christmas
brings. Hope of coming home soon, hope
of full adoptions, and most of all hope of our Saviors returns.
So, Christmas today was not really what I would have chosen
or expected but it brings me to focus on what this day really means. It doesn’t mean presents. It doesn’t mean snow and cold. It doesn’t mean eating non-stop for two days. Christmas is for hope.
What is Christmas to you?
What traditions do you have?
Christmas for me is very similar to your depiction of LOTS of family and food. :) A few gifts thrown in there, but the focus is God & family. I love it. I feel for you - I totally understand the feelings of sadness at experiencing a Christmas that is different....... it just wouldn't feel the same! This past year, I've pondered on this a lot because I am a planner and I want to prepare myself if God continues to lead to eventually spend an extended amount of time in Kenya at the orphanage. I would miss the caroling - but I decided to teach the children how to sing some! I would miss my family - but like you, I could skype them. I would miss the amazing foods we cook - but I would have food to eat.... so. The things that are really important, like reading the Christmas story, being with people who love you, and submersing yourself in the Spirit of Love and Joy would all still be available to me. I'm glad you have those things too! May God bless you!!!
ReplyDelete(one tradition we have as an immediate family is to have a special breakfast/lunch & then open a few gifts together - after reading the Christmas story. Every year - for 27 years - my parents have succeeded in having this on Christmas morning. Quite a feat!)